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COPYRIGHT DEFOSm 






HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



A HISToki 

OF 



The City of Cleveland 



ITS SETTLEMENT, RISE AND PROGRESS. 



jgo=i8g6 



BY 



JAMES HA-RRISON KENNEDY, 

Editor of " The Magazine of Western History ; " 
Author of "The Early Days of Mormonism ; " 
"The American Railroad ;" "Three Witnesses 
of the Book of Mormon ;" " The Bench and Bar 
of Cleveland" etc. Corresponding Member of the 
Western Reserve Historical Society, etc., etc. 



Illustrated with Maps, Portraits and Views. 










»e. 



( i 



^ 



\k 



S 



CLEVELAND : Gbe ITmperial press. 

MDCCCXCVL 



Copyright / 

By The Imperial Press, 
Cleveland. 



No. 



gf# 



TO nil MEMOR\ OF 



MOSKS CLEAVELAND, 



v\i> II is ^SSOCl v lis OF i 796, 

is DEDICATED 

1 111s RECORD Ql 1111 ik tCHlEVlMENTS, a\p OF nib: 

CITI WHOSE FOUNDATIONS 1 n I \ imp 

ONI Ul NDRED \ I VKs iQO 



/ hear the tread of pioneers 

Of nations yet to be ; 
The first low wash of waves, where soon 

Shall roll a huma?i sea. 

Each rude a7id jostling fragment soon 

Its fitting place shall find, — 
The raw material of a State, 

Its muscle and its mind ! 

John Greenleaf Whittier. 




MOSES CLEAVELAND. 



PREFACE, 



The chief reason for the appearance of this narrative 
may be found in the fact that no sustained and adequate 
history of the city of Cleveland has been attempted in 
recent years, and that this centennial year seemed to 
demand something that should clearly set forth the won- 
derful things that one hundred years have accomplished. 
Subordinate reasons are found in an unusual opportunity 
for the collection of material, and a deep interest in all 
that relates to the creation and development of the great 
city whose history is here recorded. In this semi-confi- 
dential note to the reader a personal reference that else- 
where would be out of place may be permitted. 

From 1872 to 1889 the writer was continuously engaged 
in newspaper and literary labor in Cleveland, the main 
part of which was connected with local themes and bore 
relation to the advance of the city along those lines of 
development that in the last twenty-five years have car- 
ried her into the front rank of the great cities of the 
West. That which was at first a matter of the day's bus- 
iness became a labor of love, and day by day, and year by 
year, the accumulation of historical material went on — a 
task that has by no means ceased, even in these later 
years of absence. 

The foundations for this work were, therefore, laid 
almost unconsciously, and its appearance may hardly be 



PREFACE. 



looked upon as premeditated. No one is more conscious 
than the writer of the fact that a better use of this abun- 
dant material might have been made, but he will not admit 
that any one could have carried to the task a deeper per- 
sonal interest in the theme, or treasured a closer affection 
for the beautiful Forest City, the city of homes, the city 
in whose record may be found so much to admire and 
commend, and so little that needs apology or apologetic 
explanation. 

The most critical reader cannot more deeply deplore 
than does the writer the limitations of a work of this char- 
acter. A half dozen volumes, rather than one, would have 
been required to follow all the enterprises and interests of 
Cleveland to the complete conclusion of the record, and 
to give to each actor in these stirring scenes of a hundred 
years the full meed of recognition or praise. In many 
cases where only a generalization was possible, notes have 
been added showing where the complete record could be 
obtained, thus enabling the student of our home history 
to follow his investigations with the smallest possible 
outlay of labor or research. It has also been the aim of 
the author to give the testimony of the witnesses them- 
selves where possible, and to that end many direct quota- 
tions have been made from the original sources. The ad- 
vantages and justice of this course will be readily recog- 
nized. 

It would be impossible in the space here permitted to 
give individual credit to the many friends who have as- 
sisted in the collection of material, or furnished valuable 
suggestions as to sources from which original information 
might be obtained. Especial mention, however, must be 
made of the officers of the Western Reserve Historical 
Society, of the Early Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga 



PREFACE. 



County, and of the Chamber of Commerce ; the librarian 
of the Public Library, executive officers of the various 
municipal departments, the newspaper managers and ed- 
itors whose files have been willingly placed at my serv- 
ice. Acknowledgment of the most ample character must 
also be made to Col. Charles Whittlesey's " Early History 
of Cleveland, ' ' the publications of the Western Reserve 
Historical Society, and the ''Annals of the Early Settlers' 
Association of Cuyahoga County. ' ' No history of Cleve- 
land can be written, in all time to come, that is not prima- 
rily based upon that admirable and authentic collection 
of original papers, that grew into a volume by the earnest 
and intelligent labor of Col. Whittlesey. Purporting to 
be only what they are — disconnected facts collected from 
original and widely diverse sources — they supply many 
links of historical connection that would have been blanks 
without them. It was indeed a fortunate thing for Cleve- 
land and the Western Reserve that this able and careful 
historian devoted himself to a labor of such importance, 
at a period sufficiently early for the preservation of much 
that otherwise would have been a total loss. 

The many tracts issued by the Western Reserve Histor- 
ical Society largely supplement and carry forward the 
good work in the 4 ' Early History of Cleveland." The 
''Annals " of the Early Settlers came into existence not 
a moment too soon ; had they been commenced a decade 
later, some of the most important facts in regard to 
pioneer Cleveland would have been lost forever. The 
papers, speeches and letters there recorded have proved 
a veritable gold mine of historical information, and it 
would be a great loss to Cleveland and all this portion of 
the Middle West were these publications, or those of the 
older organization, from any cause, suspended. 



PREFACE. 



This record has been carried as far as possible into this 
memorable centennial year. It is placed before the 
people of Cleveland, and the sons and daughters of the 
city, wherever found, in the hope that it may be regarded 
as not altogether least among the tributes paid to that 
great anniversary of Cleveland's birth. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Preface . . . . . . ix 

CHAPTER I 

In the Western Wilderness . . i 

CHAPTER II. 

Laving the Foundations . . . .28 

CHAPTER III. 

Three Trying Years . . . -53 

CHAPTER IV. 

A City on Paper . . . . .76 

CHAPTER V. 

Law, Gospel, and Education . . -97 

CHAPTER VI 

The County of Cuyahoga . . . .123 

CHAPTER VII 

In the Time of War .... 149 

CHAPTER VIII 

The Incorporated Village of Cleveland . 173 

CHAPTER IX. 

By Lare and Canal ...".. 200 

chapter x. 
Some Years of Steady Growth . . .227 



CONTEXTS. 



■A(;k. 



CHAPTER XL 

The City of Cleveland . . . .256 



CHAPTER XII. 

Many Events of a Fruitful Period . . 286 

chapter xiii. 
The Railroad Era . . . . . 317 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Two Cities become One . . . .341 

CHAPTER XV. 

Expansion and Growth .... 374 

CHAPTER XVI 

An Era of many Improvements . . .412 

CHAPTER XVII 

1880 — A Wonderful Decade — -1890 . -457 

CHAPTER XVIII 

In Greater Cleveland .... 486 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Cleveland's Centennial Year . . 5 19 

Index ....... 557 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Portrait of Moses Cleaveland 

Portrait of La Salle 

Portrait of Rev. John Heckewelder 

Portrait of Seth Pease 

Portrait of Joshua Stow . 

Euclid Street, 1833 

St. Clair Street, 1833 

Portrait of James Kingsbury 

Oldest House in Cleveland 

Cleveland in 1833 

Portrait of Lorenzo Carter 

Cleveland in 1833 

Cleveland in 1800 

Portrait of Samuel Huntington 

Portrait of Rev. Joseph Badger 

Portrait of John Doan 

Northwest Section of the Public 



Portrait of John Barr 
Southwest Section of the Public 



Sq'uar 



Square 



Portrait of Abram Hickox 

Portrait of Levi Johnson . 

Portrait of Alfred Kelley 

The Valley of the Cuyahoga, 1846 

Portrait of Gen. W. H. Harrison 

Portrait of O. H. Perry 

Burial of the Dead after Perry's Victoi 

First Courthouse and Jail 

Portrait of Peter M. Weddell 

Trinity Church, 1828 



PAGE. 

Frontispiece 

5 

13 

• 25 

. 29 



facin 
facin 



> 44 
54 

• 56 

'. 59 
facing 66 

. 70 

facing 80 

facing 92 

• 97 
100 



107 



E, 1839 



facing 1 14 

• 123 

1839 

facing 130 

• 137 

• 144 

• H5 
facing 146 

. 156 

. 159 

facing 162 

. 166 

. 180 

. 185 



XVI 



LIST OF ILL USTRA TIONS. 



\ 



Superior Street, 1846 
Portrait of Leonard Case, Sr 
Cleveland's First Schoolhouse . 
Cleveland's Academy 
Portrait of Harvey Rice . 
Stockley's Pier, 1850 
Portrait of Reuben Wood 
The " Walk-in-the- Water " 
Wreck of the " Walk-in-the-Water " 
The Old Stone Church, 1834 
The Old Stone Church of to-day 
Portrait of R. P. Spalding 
Portrait of John W. Allen 
The Second Courthouse 
First Methodist Episcopal Church 
The Lemen Homestead, 1829 
The Present Lighthouse . 
Portrait of Mrs. Rebecca C. Rouse, 
Portrait of Jabez W. Fitch 
First Baptist Church, 1836 
First Baptist Church of to-day . 
Cleveland and Ohio City, 185 i 
Portrait of John W. Willey 
Portrait of George Hoadly 
Portrait of Nicholas Dockstader 
Portrait of George A. Benedict . 
Portrait of Josiah A. Harris 
Portrait of Nelson Hayward 
Portrait of Samuel Starkweather 
Prospect Street Schoolhouse 
An Old District Schoolhouse 
Portrait of Lorenzo A. Kelsey . 
The First High School Building 
Cleveland Public Library Building 
Portrait of Col. Charles Whittlesey 
Facsimile Title of First Directory ( 
cities of Cleveland and Ohio, 1837- 



PAGE. 

facing- 186 
187 
191 
194 

195 
196 
197 
203 
206 
212 

213 
215 
216 
228 
230 
233 
234 
235 
248 
251 
252 
facing 260 
268 
269 
272 
2 74 
275 
276 

2 79 
281 
282 
284 
287 
288 
289 



)F THE 

-38 • 



293 



LIST OF ILL USTRA TIONS. 



xvn 



Columbus Street Bridge, 1835 

Portrait of William Case . 

St. Mary's Church ox " The Flats " 

Portrait of Bishop Amadeus Rappe 

Portrait of Abner C. Brownell . 

The American House 

Portrait of Dr. Jared P. Kirtland 

The present Second Presbyterian Church 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1856 

The Weddell House 

Portrait of William B. Castle 

Railway Station and Docks, 1854 . facin 

Portrait of George B. Senter 

Portrait of Edward S. Flint 

View of Cleveland in 1853 . . facin 

St. John's Cathedral 

Portrait of Joseph L. Weatherley 

Society for Savings Building 

" The Flats" in 1857 

Portrait of H. M. Chapin . 

Y. M. C. A. Building, 1875 • 

Portrait of Stephen Buhrer 

11 Cleveland under the Hill," 1854 . facin 

The City Hall .... 

Portrait of F. W. Pelton . 

New England Hotel, 1854 . 

The proposed new Courthouse 

Kentucky Street School Building, 1850 

The Central High School Building 

The Public Square, 1873 . . . facin 

The Perry Monument 

Soldiers' Monument in Woodland Cemetery 

Hospital Camp, Cleveland 

Old Central Police Station 

Western Reserve Historical Society Building 

Portrait of C. A. Otis 

Portrait of William J. Gordon . 



PAGE. 

facing 294 
297 



302 
303 
304 
309 
312 

313 
3H 
3i6 
321 
322 

325 
330 
332 
337 
339 
343 
347 
35o 
353 
356 
358 
367 
369 
372 
375 
376 
378 
378 
384 
388 

39° 
397 
400 
408 
416 



LIST OF ILL USTRA TIONS. 



A View in Gordon Park 

Euclid Avenue Opera House 

Portrait of John A. Ellsler 

Portrait of Nathan P. Payne 

Forest City House, 1876 

Portrait of W. G. Rose 

Portrait of H. M. Addison 

Statue of Moses Cleaveland 

Portrait of Leonard Case, Jr 

Case School of Applied Science 

" The Ark " (exterior view) 

A Meeting at " The Ark " 

Adelbert College . 

The University School 

The Garfield Monument . 

Portrait of R. R. Herrick 

The Stillman Hotel 

Portrait of John H. Farley 

Portrait of Geo. W. Gardner 

Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 

Birthplace of the Epworth League 

Proposed Chamber of Commerce Buildinc 

Portrait of B. D. Babcock 

Cleveland Shipbuilding 

Perry-Payne Building 

Cleveland Post-Office 

Portrait of Robert Blee . 

Portrait of Edwin Cowles 

Portrait of R. E. McKisson 

Euclid Avenue, from Erie Street 

The Present St. Paul's Episcopal Churc 

The Hollenden Hotel 

Cuyahoga Building . 

A View in Wade Park 

The Centennial Arch 





PACK. 


facing 


420 




426 




427 




430 




432 


• 


435 




439 




441 




443 




444 


• 


445 


facing 


446 




449 


• 


450 




454 




458 




463 




466 




472 


1889 . 


480 




481 


G facing 


492 




493 


facing 


500 




504 


• 


506 


. 


510 


• 


5H 




522 




527 


H 


533 




540 




542 


facing 


55o 
555 



LIST OF ILLUSTRA TIONS. 



MAPS. 



PAGE. 

Map of the Western Reserve . . .18 

Plan of the City of Cleaveland by Seth Pease ; 

1796 . . . . facing 40 

Spafford's Map of Cleveland; 1801 . facing 74 

Map of the Village of Cleveland; 18 14 . . 175 

Map of Cleveland and its Environs by Ahaz 

Merchant; 1835 . . . facing 258 

Plan of the City of Cleveland ; about 1853 facing 362 



THE 

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, 



CHAPTER I. 

IN THE WESTERN WILDERNESS. 

" While I was in New Connecticut I laid out a town, 
on the bank of Lake Erie, which was called by my name, 
and I believe the child is now born that may live to see 
that place as large as Old Windham." 

These are the words in which Moses Cleaveland, in the 
year 1796, recorded a prophecy that has been abundantly 
fulfilled. Staid Old Windham, where for many years 
Connecticut justice held the scales with rigid exactness, 
was then far in advance of the newly-named town upon 
the Cuyahoga, which existed only upon the surveyors' 
charts, and in the prophetic vision of its founder. Staid 
Old Windham lies to-day in the quiet usefulness of vil- 
lagehood, while the city by Lake Erie is well counted one 
of the great commercial centers of the West. Could 
Moses Cleaveland stand for a moment, in this memorable 
centennial year, where his figure in bronze keeps ward 
over the city where his memory is so highly honored, he 
would realize that he had builded well, and left an im- 
press for all time upon the life and development of this 
fair portion of his native land. 

It is a romantic story that we have to tell of the men 
and women who came into the wooded wilderness on the 
shores of Erie, one hundred years ago, and brought with 
them the ideas and principles that had even then made 
New England a power in the moral world — who faced 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



danger, and withheld themselves from no labor that stood 
"between them and the creation of a home. This story 
can never be told in that completeness of incident which 
is the very essence of romantic history, but enough has 
been written or related by those who had a part therein 
to make one of the most entertaining chapters upon the 
opening of the West. 

Privation, toil and danger were in the wilderness in 
those days, as the long war between civilization and savage- 
ry went on. While the Western Reserve had its share 
of death and disaster, the valley of the Cuyahoga was 
never drenched in blood as was that of the Mohawk or the 
Kentucky; therefore, the story of Cleveland has no rec- 
ord of sack or pillage, but it has much to tell of want and 
labor, of a patient sowing of seed that we of a later day 
might reap, of brave men and helpful women. It is a rec- 
ord of the successive steps by which the New England of 
the East gave of her brain and sinew for the building of 
the New England of the West. 

A striking picture in this panoramic view was made 
when General Cleaveland, upon that fair day in July, 
stood on the hills overlooking the Cuyahoga and Lake 
Erie, and realized that the end of his journey and the begin- 
ning of his real labor of planning and construction had 
come together at that point and in that hour. 

Could this energetic New Englander have looked into 
the past, as he scanned the wooded heights and the green- 
edged valley, he would have seen a wonderful chain of 
events that led back to the beginnings of time, and of 
which we know only by the traces left upon the rocks and 
in the soil — by the marking fingers of ice, of flood and of 
fire. 

Those who have studied these lessons, as they lie upon 
the surface or beneath the soil, from the gorges of Rocky 
River to the ledges of Nelson, tell us that there was a 
time when Lake Erie had not made a beginning among 
the water highways of the world ; when its bed was a 
wide and nearly level plain, with one river, or perhaps 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



two, flowing through it. There was little soil upon the 
country roundabout, and the streams were deep and wide 
— the valley of the Cuyahoga lying, perhaps, one hun- 
dred and fifty feet or more deeper than it does to-day. 

A marvelous movement of nature then occurred, and 
wonderful changes followed in its wake. Nearly all the 
North was covered with a continent of ice, which moved 
in a southerly direction, carrying stones and soil in great 
quantities, and leaving the country far more fertile than 
it was before. " The Ice Age," we are told by one 1 who 
has added so much to our knowledge of past events, 
4 ' brought to your vicinity the first pioneers from another 
country, your boulders. .... While this was going 
on, a little south of the ice, streams were depositing 
gravel, and deep in that gravel, deposited when it was 
laid, are the undoubted implements of glacial man, fol- 
lowing up the ice. "What may be found of him, here, as 
the ice retreated, is not known, but it may safely be pre- 
sumed that the earliest known man knew something of 
vour vicinity. His tools of flint, chert or arerillite were 
very simple and few. His learning was of the slightest. 
His mark upon the earth was so small that high authority 
"believes that some catastrophe overwhelmed him alto- 
gether; but perhaps it only happened that some civil- 
ized man raised him at once to a higher civilization, per- 
liaps in a servile condition. 

' ' After the Ohio had broken the dam at Cincinnati 2 and 
regained its former channel ; after the plateaus had been 
formed and the surface of Ohio became as it is at present, 
there appeared a new man, the Mound Builder. • • • 
Weapons and tools of rubbed and chipped stone, copper 

1 ' ' History of Man in Ohio : A Panorama. ' ' An address delivered at 
Norwalk, Ohio, before the Firelands Historical Society, on the 25th of 
June, 1S90, by Hon. C. C. Baldwin. Western Reserve Historical Society's 
Tract Xo. So, p. 259. 

- The great ice sheet, that covered all this section, made, at the point 
where Cincinnati now stands, a dam five or six hundred feet high, making 
a lake which its discoverer, Prof. G. F. Wright, of Oberlin, Ohio, called 
"" Lake Ohio." 



THE HISTORY OF CLE J 'EL A XT. 



pounded but not cast, and galena not melted to lead, 
though both were sometimes placed on funeral pyres, un- 
glazed pottery, no burned bricks, no stone buildings; 
using baskets to carry dirt, making a very coarse cloth or 
matting, having no alphabet; they must have been indus- 
trious and agricultural or they could not have built such 
immense works. Living mainly on corn, with a govern- 
ment strong enough to combine them patiently, probably 
through priestly superstition, their civilization was not 
higher than some Indians when America was discovered. 
• • There is no satisfactory evidence of any in- 
termediate race between the Mound Builders and the 
modern northern Indians." 3 

There is a wide space to travel, between the writing of 
these records upon the rocks or their burial beneath the 
soil, and those left in oral relation or script by men of 
whose existence we are certain, and whose labors can be 
historically recorded. Among the earliest glimmers of 
knowledge of the movements of the white man upon this 
southern shore of Lake Erie may be placed the visit of 
Father La Roche Daillon, a Recollect missionary, who as 
early as 1626 preached to an aboriginal people, by some 
called the Kakquahs, and by the French the ' ' Neuter Na- 
tion." The headquarters of this tribe, or nation, were 
probably upon the north shore of Erie, although they 
had villages near the present site of Buffalo, and extend- 
ing westward along the shore of the lake. Such informa- 
tion, as this Father has left us, leads to the belief that, at 
that time, the southern shore of Lake Erie, say from Cat- 

3 " Standing beside some of their remarkable earthworks, a glamour of 
admiration leads us to picture, in imagination, a departed race, learned 
in all the highest arts of civilization. But under the careful study of their 
remains the picture vanishes, and leaves in its place that of a patient, 
plodding people, with poor appliances, struggling towards civilization 
while still on the confines of barbarism. • • ■ • If it is asked of what 
race were these Mound Builders, it now can only be said they were 
one of the native American races, closely allied to the hunting Indians, 
and probably a branch of the same race." — "Archaeology of Ohio," by 
Professor M. C. Read, of the Geological Survey of Ohio. Western Re- 
serve Historical Society's Collections, Vol. III., Tract No. 73, p. in. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 



taraugus Creek, in New York, to near Sandusky Bay, 
Ohio, was occupied by a powerful tribe known as the 
Erie. 4 In blood, they were kindred to the Iroquois, a 
fierce and implacable foe, who, near 1650, waged war 
upon the Kakquahs, and followed this by a warfare so 
fierce and merciless upon the Eries that they were prac- 
tically swept from the face of the earth. Whole families 
were slaughtered, and villages burned to the ground; 
some who escaped joined the tribes of the farther West; 
children were captured and held for adoption, and war- 
riors, who were taken in battle, were reserved for torture. 

This sudden and savage 
extinction of the Eries left 
northeastern Ohio in the 
hands of the powerful Iro- 
q u o i s . Their western 
boundary was set along 
the Cuvahosfa, while their 
war parties made occasion- 
al excursions beyond. 

There is little definite 
information as to the year 
in which the French trad- 
ers appeared among the 
Indian tribes of this sec- 
tion. There is evidence to show that that remarkable 
explorer and adventurer. La Salle, was in the country 
south of the Erie as early as 1669: discovered the Ohio 
River, 5 and passed down it as far as the site of Louis- 

4 The following, from Day's '* Historical Collections of Pennsylvania," 
p. 310, will throw some light upon the meaning of this name: "The 
Eries, or Irri-ronon, a powerful and war-like race inhabiting the south 
side of the beautiful lake which still bears their name — almost the only 
memento that such a nation ever existed — a name signifying cats, which 
they had adopted as characteristic of their tribe. ' ' 

5 ' ' The River Ohio, otherwise called the Beautiful River, and its tribu- 
taries belong indisputably to France, by virtue of its discovery, by the 
Sieur de la Salle, and of the trading posts the French have had there 

Instructions to M. Duquesne, Paris, 1752 ; see Colonial Documents 
p. 243. " It is only since the last war that the Eng- 




LA SALLE. 



since 

of Xew York, Vol. X 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



ville, where he was abandoned by his men, and com- 
pelled to return home alone. There is a map, of which 
there is some evidence to show that he was the author, 
bearing the date 1672, where the fair body of water to 
the north of us is called " Lake Tejocharonting, com- 
monly called Lake Erie." 

We begin to tread upon firmer ground, in considering 
the records of but a few years later. In 1678, La Salle 
was commissioned by Louis XIV. of France to explore 
that part of the western wilderness of America called 
" New France." His purpose was threefold: " To 
realize the old plan of Champlain, the finding of a path- 
way to China across the American continent. To occupy 
and develop the regions of the northern lakes. To de- 
scend the Mississippi River and establish a fortified post 
at its mouth, thus securing an outlet for the trade of the 
interior, and checking the progress of Spain on the Gulf 
of Mexico." 

In the early part of 1679, he built above the falls of the 
Niagara a vessel of sixty tons, which he named the 
" Griffin," and in which he sailed out into the waters of 
the Erie. Shipwreck and disaster were the fate of this 
first vessel of the white man to spread her sails upon these 
inland seas. She reached Green Bay, where La Salle and 
some of his lieutenants left her, was loaded with furs, set 
out upon her return trip, and was never heard of again. 6 

lish have set up claims to the territory on the Beautiful River, the posses- 
sion whereof has never been disputed to the French, who have always re- 
sorted to that river ever since it was discovered by Sieur de la Salle. ' ' — 
Instructions to Vaudreuil, Versailles, April, 1755; see Colonial Documents, 
Vol. X., p. 293. Two local historians of high repute incline quite strongly 
to the theory of this discovery. Says Col. Charles Whittlesey: " Xo one 
has set up against him a rival claim to the discovery of the Ohio. His 
heirs, his admirers, and his countrymen should cherish the memory of 
that discovery as the most wonderful of his exploits." Western Re- 
serve Historical Society's Tract Xo. 3S, p. 12. Charles C. Baldwin adds: 
' ' La Salle entered the Ohio near or at one of its sources, I believe at Lake 
Chautauqua, six or seven leagues below Lake Erie, and followed it to 
Louisville." Western Reserve Historical Society's Tract Xo. 63, p. 328. 

6 ' ' Many historians infer that La Salle passed through northern Ohio 
from the Illinois River in the winter of 1682-S3. That he made a journey 



THE HISTORY OF CLEJ'ELAXD. 



During the years in which the French and English car- 
ried on their long dispute as to the ownership of this por- 
tion of the West, that part east of the Cuyahoga remained 
in possession of the Six Nations, who used it as a hunting 
ground ; while that to the west of the stream was in the 
main under the control of the Ottawas. Chippewas and 
Pottawattomies. their only white visitors being an occa- 
sional French or English fur-trader, or a zealous Tesuit 
missionary, who had braved the manifold dangers of the 
venture for the advancement of his faith. 

For the better understanding of that Avhich immediatelv 
follows, it will be necessary to bear in mind the fact that 
at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century there were 
three great European powers who claimed possessions in 
Xorth America. Spain was the master of Mexico and of 
a portion of the southeast corner of the United States ; 
France held all to the north of the lakes, west of the 
Alleghanies, and southward to the possessions of Spain: 
while England's claims went from the Spanish line on 
the south to the northern lakes and the St. Lawrence. 
and westward to the Alleghanies. These are the gen- 
eral outlines. There were disputes in several directions 
as to boundary lines, which in many cases were but 
faintly outlined. 

In 1 7 14. Governor Spotswood. of Virginia, led an ex- 
pedition which disproved the general belief that the 
Alleghanies were impassable. He passed the chain 
and descended to the Ohio.' Upon his return he in- 

by land from Crevecoeur to Quebec in that winter, cannot be doubted, but 
there is no proof on which side of Lake Erie he traveled. It is far more 
probable that he avoided the hostile Iroquois, and bearing northward 
crossed the Detroit River, where the Indians were friendly to the 
French." •Early History of Cleveland," by Col. Charles Whittle- 
sey, p. 51. 

: A touch of romance comes in here. Upon his return, this gallant gov- 
ernor ' ' established the Transmontane Order, or Knights of the Golden 
Horse Shoe. On the sandy plains of Eastern Virginia horseshoes were 
rarely used ; but in climbing the mountains he had found them necessary : 
and on creating his companions knights of this new order, he gave to each 
a golden horseshoe inscribed with the motto. ' Sic jurat transcendere 
montes. ' Western Reserve Historical Societv, Tract Xo. 20. p. 5. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



formed those who were his superiors in authority, the 
British Ministry, that the planting of a settlement in the 
western valley was a matter of great importance, and that 
England's interest did not lie in permitting France to 
hold it in undisputed possession. 

England moved forward in her conquests, slowly but 
surely. She gained the friendship of the great Iroquois 
Confederacy — the most powerful organization of Indian 
tribes in the New World — who were in possession of the 
southern shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario. 8 Many treaties 
were made with these confederated tribes during the first 
half of the Eighteenth Century, and grants of lands of 
great value were obtained on the eastern slope of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley. 

It was near the middle of that century when England 
acted upon the wise advice of her Virginian governor. An 
organization known as " The Ohio Company " was 
created in 1748, which received a royal grant of one half 
million acres of land in the valley of the Ohio. The en- 
deavors of this company to obtain and hold secure their 
new possessions continued for years, and form a chapter 
of absorbing interest in the history of Ohio, but have no 
direct connection with the valley of the Cuyahoga. 

A long step toward the secure possession of this great 
empire of the West was taken when, by the treaty of 
Paris, made in 1763, England acquired Canada and all the 
territory east of the Mississippi and southward to the 
Spanish Territory, with the exception of New Orleans 
and its immediate vicinity. This was followed, in 1768, 

8 " The occupation of Ohio, from the French war to the Revolution, was 
as follows : The general western limits of the Iroquois proper was a line 
running through the counties of Belmont, Harrison, Tuscarawas, Stark, 
Summit, and Cuyahoga. The Delawares occupied the valley of the 
Muskingum, their northern line running through Richland, Ashland, and 
Wayne ; the Shawnees the valley of the Scioto, the northern line being a 
little lower than the Delawares ; the last two tribes occupying as tenants 
of the Iroquois. It will thus be seen that the Iroquois had not only ad- 
mitted sovereignty, but actual legal occupancy of the greater part of 
Ohio." — " The Iroquois in Ohio," by C. C. Baldwin. Western Reserve 
Historical Society, Tract No. 40, p. 28. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



by a treaty at Fort Stanwix, between Sir William John- 
son and the Six Nations, by which the lands south of the 
Ohio and the Alleghany were sold to the British, the In- 
dians still retaining those north and west of these rivers. 
The white men who ventured into the lands to the 
south of Lake Erie and west of the Alleghanies, previous 
to the organized attempts at settlement made to the south 
by the Ohio Company and to the north by the Connecti- 
cut Land Company, have left few traces by which their 
purposes can be clearly understood, or their movements 
closely followed. The hardy and venturesome trader, 
both English and French, who pushed into the wilder- 
ness., and carried the products of civilization to exchange 
for those of the chase, reached the mouth of the Cuya- 
hoga at an early day. The French extended their forts 
and trading posts to many points on the lakes and the 
Ohio River, between 1700 and 1750. In this year last 
named they possessed a fort at Sandusky, and five years 
later a trading house on the Cuyahoga, near the mouth 
of Tinker's Creek. The winter of 1755-6 was spent by 
James Smith, a Pennsylvanian, in this neighborhood, as a 
prisoner of the Delawares, and in a narrative which he 
penned the sections watered by the Cuyahoga, the Black 
and the Kilbuck rivers are fully described. Near the 
same time a white girl named Mary Campbell passed five 
years in a like captivity near the Cuyahoga falls, not far 
from the site of Akron. In commenting upon the early 
traders who pushed forward to this neighborhood, Colonel 
Charles Whittlesey says : ' ' After the British took posses- 
sion in 1760, French and English traders continued to- 
gether to traffic with the Indians on the waters of Lake 
Erie. No doubt a post was kept up at some point or 
points on the river during a large part of the Eighteenth 
Century, but such establishments are so slight and tem- 
porary that they are seldom noticed in history. A trad- 
ing house is a very transient affair. A small log cabin 
covered with bark constituted all of what is designated as 
an establishment. If the Indian customers remove, the 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



trader follows them, abandons his cabin, and constructs 
another at a more convenient place. Within a year the 
deserted hut is burned to the ground, and all that remains 
is a vacancy of an acre or two in the forest covered with 
grass, weeds, briers and bushes." 9 In 1760, Major Rob- 
ert Rogers, in command of a New Hampshire company of 
Provincial Rangers, left Fort Niagara to take possession 
of the French post. According to one eminent historian, 10 
they paid a visit to this place : " On the 7th of November, 
1760, they reached the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, the 
present site of Cleveland. No body of British troops had 
ever advanced so far. The day was dull and rainy, and, 
resolving to rest until the weather should improve, Rog- 
ers ordered his men to prepare their camp in the neigh- 
boring forest. The place has seen strange changes since 
that day. Soon after the arrival of the Rangers, a party 
of Indian chiefs and warriors entered the camp. They 
proclaimed themselves an embassy from Pontiac, ruler of 
all that country, and directed in his name that the Eng- 
lish should advance no further until they had had an in- 
terview with the great chief, who was close at hand. He 
greeted Rogers with the haughty demand, what his busi- 
ness was in that country, and how he dared enter it with- 
out his permission." After parleying and presents, the 
objection was withdrawn. In the opinion of Col. Whittle- 
sey, this reported interview did not occur here at all, but 
at Grand River. An expedition sent out under Major 
Wilkins, in 1763, was wrecked on Lake Erie near the Cuya- 
hoga, or Rocky River, and was so disorganized that it 
had to return ; while yet another under Col. Bradstreet 
(1764) is supposed to have passed through this neighbor- 
hood. 

Sir William Johnson, the superintendent of Indian 
affairs, paid a visit to Detroit in 1761, after the English 
had obtained possession of that place, and returned home 
by way of the south shore ; in his diary we find this 

9 Whittlesey's " Early History of Cleveland," p. 131. 

10 Parkman's " Conspiracy of Pontiac," pp. 147-148. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



record: kk Embarked this morning at six of ye clock, and 
intend to beach near Cuyahoga this day." 

As early as 1765 the practical eye of Benjamin Frank- 
lin, as he scanned the crude maps of the Western coun- 
try, and listened to those who had visited it, showed him 
the advantages of the Cuyahoga as a military post, and 
he recommended its occupancy for that purpose. Wash- 
ington himself, in discussing the question of water com- 
munication between the northern lakes and Chesapeake 
Bay, suggested " the practicability of a route from Lake 
Erie by way of the Cuyahoga, Tuscarawas and Muskingum 
into the Ohio, as an outlet to the future inland commerce 
of the lakes," necessitating "a portage near Akron of less 
than seven miles, whereby shipments were to be trans- 
ferred from the lakes to the river Ohio, thence to ascend 
its upper tributaries into the mountains, from whence, by 
another portage, would be reached the navigable rivers 
falling into the Atlantic." 11 

In the fall of 1782, the mouth of the Cuyahoga again 
appeared in the discussions of the military authorities, and 
there occurred an incident of travel and suffering in an 
endeavor to reach it, that so well illustrates the conditions 
then existing, that I am led to relate it with some detail. 
The newly-created American Government had learned 
that the British had established a military post at San- 
dusky, and were about to build another, either at Cuya- 
hoga or Grand River. Major Isaac Craig, of the Revolu- 
tionary Army, was ordered to take Lieutenant Rose and 
six active men, visit the two points last named, and learn 
11 whether any such attempts were making by the en- 
emy." 12 

The little party set forth from Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) upon 
its long and perilous journey, near the middle of Novem- 
ber, in the year named. They reached a point they sup- 

11 Historical Address by Samuel E. Adams, Esq., "Annals of the 
Early Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga County," No. 1, p. 19. 

12 From the privately printed life of Major Isaac Craig. Western Re- 
serve Historical Society, Tract No. 22, p. 4. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



posed to be within a day's march of the Cuyahoga, and 
there left one man in charge of their extra provisions, it 
being their intention, upon rejoining him, to take a fresh 
supply and then proceed to a like visit to the mouth of the 
Grand. We quote from the narrative as learned from 
Major Craig: " The weather proved very unfavorable 
after the separation; the Major, with his party, was de- 
tained beyond the appointed time, and the soldier with 
the horse had disappeared, so that when they reached the 
designated place, weary and half-famished, they found no 
relief, and had before them a journey of more than one hun- 
dred miles, through a hostile wilderness. The examina- 
tion of Grand River had of course to be abandoned, and 
the party was compelled to hasten back to Fort Pitt. 
The travel back was laborious and painful, the weather 
being tempestuous and variable. The party pursued the 
most direct course homeward. Before they reached the 
Conequenessing, near about, as Major Craig thought, 
where Old Harmony now stands, the weather became ex- 
tremely cold, and they found that stream frozen over, but 
the ice not sufficiently firm to bear the weight of a man. 
The following expedient was then resorted to as the best 
the circumstances allowed : A large fire was kindled on the 
northern bank of the Conequenessing, and when it was 
burning freely, the party stripped off their clothes ; one 
man took a heavy bludgeon in his hands to break the 
way, while each of the others followed with portions of 
the clothing, and arms in one hand and a fire-brand in 
the other. Upon reaching the southern bank of the 
stream, these brands were placed together and a brisk fire 
soon raised, by which the party dressed themselves and 
then resumed their toilsome march. Upon reaching the 
Cranberry plains, they were delighted to find encamped 
there a hunting party consisting of Captain Uriah 
Springer and other officers, and some soldiers from the 
fort. There, of course, they were welcomed and kindly 
treated, and arrived at the fort on the evening of the sec- 
ond of December. The report of Major Craig was that 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



13 



there was no sign of occupancy at the mouth of the Cuy- 
ahoga." 

The residence of the Moravian missionaries 13 and 
their followers within the present boundaries of Cuy- 
ahoga County was brief and unimportant, except as a 
chapter in the long, sad story of that driven and perse- 
cuted people. When the " praying " Indians and their 
white leaders decided to leave their temporary home in 
Michigan, they determined, in May, 1786, to " plant a 
settlement ' ' on the Cuyahoga River, and after much toil 
and many disasters reached a point upon its eastern bank, 
a short distance below the mouth of Tinker's Creek. To 
this location they gave the name " Pilgerruh," or " Pil- 
grim's Rest." By October they had so far completed 
their village as to give them comfortable shelter for the 
winter. In the spring of 1 787, they prepared to move west- 
ward, to the mouth of Black River, and on April 19th the 
last prayer was heard in their little chapel at " Pilgrim's 
Rest," after which they 
commenced anew the jour- 
neyings, some going over- 
land, and others in canoes 
by way of the Cuyahoga 
and Lake Erie. Very little 
in the way of detail touch- 
ing the experiences o 
these people upon ou: 
home-soil has been be- 
queathed to us. 

There is in existence, 
however, among the rich REV . JOHN heckewelder. 

possessions of the West- 
ern Reserve Historical Society — presented by a daughter 
of Moses Cleaveland — a map and a manuscript descriptive 
of the same, prepared in 1796 by the Rev. John Hecke- 

13 These zealous people derived their name from Moravia, a province of 
Austria, and were originally organized under the name of the Unitas 
Fratrum or United Brethren. They were moved with an especial desire 
to convert the Indians of North America. 




i 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



welder, a leading Moravian missionary, who came to the 
Cuyahoga valley with his people, but left them before the 
opening of the winter. This map covers the country 
from the Alleghany River on the east, the Ohio on the 
south, the lake on the north, and the Huron and Mus- 
kingum on the west, and is, of course, crude and uncertain 
in both outlines and details. His manuscript bears the 
heading: " Description of that part of the Western Coun- 
try comprehended in my map ; with remarks on certain 
particular spots, etc." We quote some of these remarks, 
as follows : 

" Altho the country in general containeth both Arable 
Land & good Pasturage : yet there are particular Spots far 
preferable to others: not only on account of the Land 
being here superior in quality : but also on account of the 
many advantages presenting themselves. 

' ' As the first place of utility between the Pennsylvania 
Line: (yea I may say between Presq' Isle) and Cujahaga; 
& in an East and West course as the dividing Ridge runs 
between the Rivers which empty into the Lake Erie ; & 
those Rivers or Creeks which empty into the Ohio : (& 
which Ridge I suppose runs nearly Paralell with this 
Lake, & is nearly or about 50 miles distance from the 
same ) : Cujahaga certainly stands foremost ; & that for the 
following reasons. 

" 1. because it admits small Sloops into its mouth from 
the Lake, and affords them a good Harbour. 

11 2. because it is Navigable at all times with Canoes to 
the Falls, a distance of upwards of 60 Miles by Water — 
and with Boats at some Seasons of the Year to that place 
— and may without any great Expense be made Navigable 
for Boats that distance at all times. 

"3. because there is the best prospect of Water com- 
munication from Lake Erie into the Ohio, by way of Cuja- 
haga & Muskingum Rivers ; The carrying place being the 
shortest of all carrying places, which interlock with each 
other, & at most not above 4 miles. 

" 4. because of the Fishery which may be erected at 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 15 



its mouth, a place to which the White Fish of the Lake 
resort in the Spring, in order to Spawn. 

"5. because there is a great deal of Land of the first 
Quality on this River. 

11 6. because not only the River itself, has a clear & 
lively current, but all Waters & Springs emptying in the 
same, prove by their clearness & current, that it must be 
a healthy Country in general. 

"7. because one principle Land Road, not only from 
the Allegheny River & French Creek : but also from Pitts- 
burg will pass thro that Country to Detroit, it being by 
far the most level Land path to that place." 

In further description of this wonderful section that has 
so captivated the eye of this visitor and laid its impress 
upon his judgment, Mr. Heckewelder adds that the 
" Land on the Cujahaga River itself is good, and well 
Timbered either with Oaks & Hickory, or with lofty 
Chestnuts. The Cujahaga Country abounds in Game, 
such as Elk, Deer, Turkey, Raccoons &c. ' ' In conclusion 
he inserts " the description the late Geographer to the 
United States gives to this part of the Country, copied 
from a Pamphlet he had printed in London in the year 
1778" — the main point of which is the statement that 
" Cujahaga will hereafter be a place of great impor- 
tance." 

Well, indeed, has that prophecy, made eighteen years 
before Moses Cleaveland set foot upon this soil, been ful- 
filled. 

Mention of this Moravian town is made by a traveler 
who visited the Cuyahoga in 1786. Col. James Hillman, 
of Youngstown, Ohio, in writing to Judge Barr, under 
date of November 23rd, 1843, says: " In the spring of 1786 
Messrs. Duncan & Wilson entered into a contract with 
Messrs. Caldwell & Elliott, of Detroit, to deliver a quan- 
tity of flour and bacon at the mouth of the Cuyahoga 
River, to a man by the name of James Hawder, an Eng- 
lishman, who had a tent at the mouth of the river, for the 
purpose of receiving it. In May, 1786, I engaged with 



i6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Duncan & Wilson, at Pittsburgh, as a packhorseman, and 
started immediately. We took the Indian trail for San- 
dusky, until we arrived at the Standing Stone, on the 
Cuyahoga, a little below the mouth of Breakneck Creek, 
where the village of Franklin is now. There we left the 
Sandusky trail, and took one direct to the mouth of 
Tinker's Creek, where was a little town built by Hecke- 
welder and Zersberger, with a number of Moravian In- 
dians. They were Moravian preachers. Here we crossed 
the Cuyahoga, and went down on the west side to the 
mouth. In going down we passed a small log trading 
house, where one Meginnes traded with the Indians. 
The mouth of the Cuyahoga was then about the 
same as when I last saw it, in 1813. In 1786, there was a 
pond of water west of the mouth, which we called Sun 
Fish Pond, where we caught sun fish. We carried axes 
to cut our wood, and I remember we at one time under- 
took to open the mouth of the river, which was choked up 
with sand. We made wooden shovels, and began to dig 
away the sand until the water ran through, which took 
away the sand so fast that our party was divided, a por- 
tion being left on the east side, where Cleveland now is. 
We made collars of our blankets for some of the 
horses, and took our tent ropes, made of raw elk skin, for 
tugs, drew small logs and built a hut at the spring, which 
I believe was the first house built on the Cleveland side." 

No mention of this house is made by the surveyors who 
came with General Cleaveland. 

A little later glance at the physical outline of the Cuy- 
ahoga valley may be taken before passing on to the real 
narrative of the founding and building of Cleveland. A 
traveler 14 writing as late as 1805, when the early settlers 
were already in possession, says: " The Cuyahoga empties 
into Lake Erie by a mouth eietfitv-eight vards wide, and is 

14 ' ' Journal of a Tour into the Territory Northwest of the Alleghany 
Mountains, made in the Spring of the year 1S03," by Thaddeus Mason 
Harris, A. M., member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, 
1805, p. 113. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 7 



navigable for sloops for fifteen miles without any falls or 
swift water ; but there is a bar at the mouth like that of 
Grand river. In high water it is boatable sixty miles to 
the portage, which is seven and an half miles, to the head 
waters of the Tuscarawa branch of the Muskingum. Here 
are fine uplands, extensive meadows, oak and mulberry 
trees fit for ship building, and walnut, chestnut and pop- 
lar trees suitable for domestic services. Near the mouth 
of this river are the celebrated rocks which project over 
the lake. They are several miles in length, and rise 
forty or fifty feet perpendicular out of the water. Some 
parts of them consist of several strata of different colors, 
lying in a horizontal direction, and so exactly paralell 
that they resemble the work of art. The view from the 
land is grand, but the water presents the most magnifi- 
cent prospect of this sublime work of nature : it is at- 
tended, however, with great danger, for, if the least storm 
arises, the force of the surf is such that no vessel can 
escape being dashed to pieces against the rocks. The 
heathen Indians, when they pass this impending danger, 
offer a sacrifice of tobacco to the water. 

"When the War of the Revolution ended in the tri- 
umphant success of the colonies, and civilization began to 
push westward with a new vigor, conflicting claims arose 
as to the ownership of various portions of the West. 15 
This portion of the lake region was included with the rest. 
Years before, while Connecticut was still a colony of Eng- 
land, she had acquired by grant from King Charles II. a 
great range of territory lying between the same parallels 
as those which bounded herself and extending ' ' from sea 
to sea " — from the Atlantic to the Pacific. When she be- 
came a State of the American Union she held to her claim 

15 Not long after the close of the Revolution, the great Western country- 
was divided into three territories: The Territory of the Mississippi; the 
Territory south of the Ohio ; the Territory northwest of the Ohio. It has 
been well said that ' ' it would be difficult to find any country so covered 
with conflicting claims of title as the Territory of the Northwest." West- 
ern Reserve Historical Society, Tract No. 20, p. 8. 



V/A/V/MAMA/Stf 




*< <=? ^" 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ig 



of dominion over this vast territory. 16 That portion of 
this claim which crossed the territory of New York and 
Pennsylvania was extinguished by agreement among the 
commonwealths concerned, while that west of Pennsyl- 
vania was left in dispute until on September 14th, 1786, 
when she ceded it all to the United States, 17 except that 
portion lying between the parallels of forty-one and forty- 
two degrees, two minutes, and a line one hundred and 
twenty miles west of the Avestern line of Pennsylvania, 
and parallel with it. This tract was called " New Con- 
necticut, ' ' or the Western Reserve, and it was decided to 
place the lands upon the market. 

Some steps toward the purchase of that portion of the 
Reserve upon which Cleveland stands were taken in 1788, 
when a company was formed under General Samuel H. 
Parsons, who located a tract embracing a quarter of a 
township, but no surveys were made here under his pat- 
ent. The Legislature of Connecticut, in 1792, granted to 
such of her citizens as had suffered by fire or otherwise, 
at the hands of the British, during the Revolution, one 
half million acres from the western end of this " re- 
served " tract, and that section was thereafter known as 
" The Fire Lands." 

16 In Tract No. 32 of the Western Reserve Historical Society, Col. 
Whittlesey discusses at considerable length the ' ' Origin of Titles ' ' to the 
Western Reserve, giving a full list of grants and conveyances affecting 
the same. A very valuable document bearing upon this subject may be 
found in the American State Papers, Public Lands, Vol. XVI., p. 94, in 
the form of a report from John Marshall, afterwards Chief Justice of the 
United States, to the House of Representatives, on March 21st, 1800, on 
the subject of title to the Reserve. It was made in view of the action then 
pending in Congress, for the settlement of the differences between Con- 
necticut and the United States, concerning the ownership of these lands. 

11 At the very end of 1798, Uriah Tracy, a Senator from Connecticut, in- 
troduced a measure in Congress that, after reintroduction and amendment, 
became a law in April, 1800. This authorized the President to transfer to 
Connecticut the legal title to the Reserve — thus confirming the title to all 
who had purchased from that State — on condition that the State would 
relinquish all claim to political jurisdiction over the same section of ter- 
ritory in favor of the United States. This agreement was carried out, and 
New Connecticut eventually became a portion of Ohio. (For above act, 
see Annals of Congress for 1800, p. 1495.) 



THE HISTORY OF CLE VELA XL). 



A further step toward the disposal of her Western pos- 
sessions was taken by Connecticut in May, 1795, when she 
appointed a committee to receive any proposals that might 
be made " for the purchase of the lands belonging to this 
State lying west of the west line of Pennsylvania as 
claimed by said State • to form and complete 

any contract or contracts for the sale of said lands." 
Eight men, representing the eight counties of Connecti- 
cut, entered into contracts with various individuals, for 
the sale of three million acres of the Reserve, for one 
million two hundred thousand dollars, or a cost of forty 
cents per acre. These deeds were quitclaims only, the 
State guaranteeing nothing as against such Indian titles 
as still remained unextinguished. 18 

The holders of these deeds formed themselves into an 
organization called the " Connecticut Land Company," 
and for convenience in the transaction of business, con- 
veyed their respective interests to three trustees : John 
Caldwell, John Morgan and Jonathan Brace. The man- 
agement of affairs was left to a board of seven directors : 
Oliver Phelps, Henry Champion, Moses Cleaveland, 
Samuel W. Johnson, Ephraim Kirby, Samuel Mather, 
Jr., and Roger Newbury. 

Elaborate ' 4 articles of association and agreement ' ' were 
drawn up. The annual meetings of the company were to 
be held in Hartford, Conn., in October, from whence the 
affairs of Xew Connecticut were to be managed. It was 
determined that the Indian titles should be extinguished, 
and the land surveyed into townships of five miles square. 
The proprietors were to club together, and draw by town- 
ships, after which the owners were to receive deeds and 
make their own subdivisions . In the first draft, $ 1 2 , 903 . 2 3 
of purchase money represented a township. 

13 " With the exception of a few hundred acres previously sold, in the 
neighborhood of the Salt Spring Tract, on the Mahoning, all titles to lands 
on the Reserve east of the Fire Lands rest on this quitclaim deed of 
Connecticut to the three trustees, who were all living as late as 1S36, and 
joined in making deeds to lands on the Reserve.'* Western Reserve His- 
torical Society, Tract Xo. 20, p. 9. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



The next thing in this rapidly moving series of events 
was to push the surveys preliminary to sale and settle- 
ment. In the articles of association above referred to, the 
directors were authorized ' ' to procure an extinguishment 
of the Indian title to said Reserve. • • • To survey 
the whole of said Reserve, and to lay the same out into 
townships containing sixteen thousand acres each ; to fix 
on a township in which the first settlement shall be made, 
to survey that township into small lots in such manner as 
they shall think proper, and to sell and dispose of said 
lots to actual settlers only ; to erect in said township a 
saw-mill and grist-mill at the expense of said company, 
to lay out and sell five other townships of sixteen thou- 
sand acres each to actual settlers only." 

When the directors, in accordance with these instruc- 
tions, cast about for some one into whose hands should be 
committed the opening of this great far Western wilder- 
ness which had come under their control, their choice fell 
upon one of their number — a man of education, legal at- 
tainments, military experience, and of goocL sturdy stock. 
He was in the prime of life, and eminently fitted for 
the responsible labors before him ; and as he was a mem- 
ber of the company, and one of its directors, his interest 
was that of his employers. 

This newly-chosen superintendent over the agents and 
men sent to survey and make locations on said land, 
whose name has become so closely linked with the for- 
tunes of this great city of the Middle West, was Moses 
Cleaveland. 19 The family from which he came was of no 
mean origin. The name comes from the Saxon, and be- 
fore the Xorman conquest was borne by a prominent 
family in Yorkshire, England. " An antiquarian of re- 
pute," writes one who has made the personal career of 

19 In early days the name was variously spelled Cleffland, Clifland, 
Cleiveland, Cleaveland, and Cleveland. It is said that the family orig- 
inally occupied an estate that was marked by fissures in the rocky soil, 
known to the Saxons as ' ' clefts, " or " cleves. ' ' This caused the rural 
neighborhood to speak of the occupants of the estate as the il Clefrlands," 
which title the family accepted. 



THE HISTORY OE CLEVELAND. 



the founder of Cleveland a close and loving study, 20 
" states that William Cleveland, of York, England, who 
died at Hinckley, in Leicestershire, in 1630, was the remote 
ancestor of the American Clevelands. It is also shown 
that a lineal descendant of his, whose name was Moses, 
and who was a housewright, or builder, by trade, emi- 
grated from England and landed at Boston in the year 
1635, where he remained for several years. He then, in 
connection with Edward Winn and others, founded the 
town of Woburn, Massachusetts, where both he and Winn 
permanently settled. This Moses Cleveland was a man 
of intelligence and enterprise. He aspired to full citizen- 
ship and became, in 1643, what was then called a ' free- 
man.' The qualifications of a ' freeman ' required that 
he should be of ' godly walk and conversation, at least 
twenty-one years of age, take an oath of allegiance to 
the government of Massachusetts Bay Colony, be worth 
two hundred pounds, and consent to hold office if elected, 
or pay a fine of forty shillings, and vote at all elections 
or pay the same fine.' The restrictions and conditions 
were so onerous that many who were eligible preferred 
not to become freemen, being more free as they were. 
But this Moses, who had now become a freeman, feeling 
that he had ancestral blood in his veins of a superior qual- 
ity, thought that it ought to be transmitted, and after a 
brief courtship married, in 1648, Anne Winn, the daugh- 
ter of his friend, Edward Winn, of Woburn. In taking 
this step, ' Moses' did not make a mistake. The result 
was that he became the accredited progenitor of all the 
Clevelands born in the United States — a race not only 
numerous, but noted for great moral worth and many 
noble traits of character." 

That later Moses Cleaveland, with whom this inquiry 
is directly concerned, was born on January 29th, 1754, in 
Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut. He was the 
second son of Aaron Cleaveland and Thankful Paine. 

20 " Gen. Moses Cleaveland," by Harvey Rice, in " Sketches of Western 
Life," Boston, 1888, p. 12. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 23 

They were refined, intelligent people, who decided that 
the son, Moses, should receive an education, and after the 
usual preparation he was sent to Yale College, from 
which he was graduated in 1777. He studied for the 
bar, and upon admission, began the practice of the law 
in his native town. Xo small degree of professional suc- 
cess was permitted him, yet within two years his atten- 
tion was turned in another direction, by his acceptance 
of a commission as captain of Sappers and Miners, in the 
Army of the United States. 21 Within a short time he 
resigned this commission and returned to the law. He 
served as a member of the Connecticut Legislature sev- 
eral terms, and made an honorable record in that capac- 
ity. In 1794, he was married to Esther, daughter of 
Henry Champion, who is spoken of as " a young lady of 
rare accomplishments." He served in various capacities 
in the militia of the State, and early in 1796 became gen- 
eral of the Fifth Brigade. 

General Cleaveland's connection with the Connecticut 
Land Company, and his experiences upon the Western 
Reserve, are related elsewhere at their proper place in 
this narrative. He continued his useful life, after his re- 
turn from the West, until November 16th. 1806, 22 when 
at Canterbury, Connecticut, he laid down his duties for- 
ever. His life and achievements are well summarized 

- 1 This commission declares that as the United States of America, in 
Congress assembled, repose " especial trust and confidence " in his " pa- 
triotism, conduct and fidelity," do constitute and appoint him "to be a 
captain in the companies of Sappers and Miners in the Army of the United 
States, to take rank as such from the second day of August, 1779." He is 
" carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of a captain, by doing and 
performing all manner of things thereunto belonging." The commission 
is signed by " His Excellency Samuel Huntington, Esq., President of the 
Congress of the United States of America. " Under date of June 7th, 17S1, 
we find this endorsement : ' ' Captain Cleaveland is hereby, at his own re- 
quest, discharged from the service of the United States. 

'-'-' In an old cemetery in Canterbury may be seen a moss-covered stone 
which bears this inscription: 

Moses Cleaveland, Esq. 
Died November 16, 1806. 

Aged Fifty-two. , 



24 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 



by Mr. Rice, who says: " Whatever else may be said of 
General Cleaveland, it is evident that he not only led an 
honorable life, but achieved a great work. He was a 
man of few words and of prompt action. His morality 
was an outgrowth of Puritanism and as rigid as it was 
pure. He was manly and dignified in his bearing, and 
so sedate in his looks that strangers often took him for a 
clergyman. In complexion he was somewhat swarthy, 
so much so that the Indians claimed him as akin to their 
own race. In personal appearance he was of medium 
height, erect, thick-set and portly, had black hair, a 
quick, penetrating eye, muscular limbs, and a military air 
in his step, indicating that he was born to command. In 
the social circle he was pleasant and agreeable in his style 
of manners, and was always received as a welcome guest. 
He was a friend to everybody, and everybody seemed to 
be his friend. In his opinions he was decisive, and could 
readily give a logical reason for them. He was also a 
man of true courage amid threatening dangers, and as 
shrewd in his tactics and management as he was coura- 
geous. • • • His was not only a career of unusual in- 
terest, but a mission that transformed a wilderness into 
a civilized land. In a word, his life-work commands our 
admiration, and deserves commemoration." 23 

The instructions conveyed to General Cleaveland were 
general in their character, leaving a wide latitude to his 
discretion and his judgment in meeting the exigencies of 
the occasion. He was to superintend the surveys, and 
" to make and enter into friendly negotiations with the 
natives who are on said land, or contiguous thereto, and 
may have any pretended claim to the same, and secure 
such friendly intercourse amongst them as will establish 
peace, quiet and safety to the survey and settlement of 
such lands not ceded by the natives under the authority 
of the United States. ' ' He was further ' ' fully authorized 
and empowered to act and transact all the above business in 
as full and ample a manner as we ourselves could do ; to 

23 Rice's " Sketches of Western Life," p. 24. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



25 



make contracts on the foregoing matters, in our behalf 
and stead, and make such drafts on our treasury as may 
be necessary to accomplish the foregoing objects of your 
appointment." 

This" elastic and comprehensive commission was issued 
on May 12th, 1796, and so expeditious was the stirring 
man in charge, that by May 19th we find him in Albany, 
N. Y., making active preparations for an early ad- 
vance upon the West. On that 
date he wrote to Oliver Phelps, 
chairman of the board of direct- 
ors, in a not altogether cheer- 
ful strain : 24 

" Albany, May 19, 1796. 

11 I have in rain and bad 
roads arrived at this place. Mr. 
Porter left Schenectady on last 
Sunday, one man was drowned. 
I find it inconvenient and at 
present impossible to obtain a 
loan of money without sacrifice, 
as our credit as a company is 
not yet sufficiently known. It 

must then rest on drafts on Thos. Mather & Company, 
dependent on their early being supplied with money from 
Hartford. • • • Mr. Porter has proceeded, as I ob- 
tain information, with all the dispatch and attention pos- 
sible, but we shall all fall short, tho' our exertions are 
ever so great, without pecuniary aid. I have concluded, 
without adequate supply, to proceed, and as my presence 
is much wanted to risque consequences, shall make drafts 
on Thos. Mather and Company, resting assured that you 




SETH PEASE. 



24 Through the patriotic effort of George F. Marshall, of Cleveland, 
some letters from the pen of General Cleaveland while upon this ex- 
pedition have recently been made available for historic use. There are 
four in all ; these were found by Mr. Marshall in the possession of Walter 
H. Phelps, a great grandson of Oliver Phelps, of Canandaigua, N. Y. , who 
permitted copies to be taken. They appear in full in the ' ' Annals of the 
Early Settlers' Association," Vol. III., No. 1, p. 68. 



26 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

will immediately, if at the expense of a person on pur- 
pose send on the money immediately that can be pro- 
cured, to Messrs. Mather, who will attend to all orders 
and directions you may please to give. A credit once 
established, the business can with great ease and 
less expense be transacted, but if we shall be obliged 
to draw orders, and once protested, I am apprehensive 
that consequences will be fatal, at least to the persons 
employed." 

Affairs were so far carried successfully forward that 
early in the succeeding June the expedition was concen- 
trated at Schenectady. A list of the officers and men em- 
ployed was as follows : 25 

Moses Cleaveland, superintendent. 

Augustus Porter, principal surveyor and deputy super- 
intendent. 

Seth Pease, astronomer and surveyor. 

Amos Sparlord, John Milton Holley, Richard M. Stod- 
dard and Moses Warren, surveyors. 

Joshua Stow, commissary. 

Theodore Shepard, physician. 

EMPLOYEES OF THE COMPANY. 

Joseph Tinker, Boatman, Joseph MTntyre, 

George Proudfoot, Francis Gray, 

Samuel Forbes, Amos Sawtel, 

Stephen Benton, Amos Barber, 

Samuel Hungerford, William B. Hall, 

Samuel Davenport, Asa Mason, 

Amzi Atwater, Michael Coffin, 

Elisha Ayres, Thomas Harris, 

Norman Wilcox, Timothy Dunham, 

George Gooding, Shadrach Benham, 

Samuel Agnew, Wareham Shepard, 

25 Whittlesey's " Early History of Cleveland," p. iSS. Col. Whittlesey 
adds : ' ' Elijah Gun, and Anna, his wife, came with the surveyors and took 
charge of Stow's Castle at Conneaut. Job P. Stiles, and Tabitha Cumi, his 
wife, were left in charge of the company's stores at Cleveland. There 
were thirteen horses and some cattle, which completed the party of 1796." 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



27 



David Beard, 
Titus V. Munson 
Charles Parker, 
Nathaniel Doan, 
James Halket, 
Olney F. Rice, 
Samuel Barnes, 



John Briant, 
Joseph Landon, 
Ezekiel Morly, 
Luke Hanchet, 
James Hamilton, 
John Lock, 
Stephen Burbank, 
Daniel Shulay. 



CHAPTER II 

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS. 

When the order was given to move, toward the West, 
several of the party were placed in charge of the horses 
and cattle, and sent overland to Buffalo. Others pro- 
ceeded in boats by way of the Mohawk River. On reach- 
ing Fort Stanwix, now known as Rome, N. Y., they 
transferred across the portage to Wood Creek, passed 
down to Oneida Lake, across that body and its outlets, 
and so down the Oswego River to Lake Ontario. They 
sailed along the coast of the lake to the mouth of the 
Niagara River and along the same to Queenstown, where 
they crossed another portage and reached Chippewa, 
from whence they passed up the Niagara and Lake Erie 
to Buffalo, where they met the detachment which had 
•come overland. 

Naturally, many hardships were encountered upon the 
way, for it was no light undertaking to conduct an ex- 
pedition of this size and character across many miles of 
new and unbroken country. Little is said of these, how- 
ever, by the hardy men upon whom these labors fell. 
One of the surveyors, John Milton Holley, industriously 
kept a journal in which a number of incidents of a minor 
nature are recorded. Under date of May 31st, he says: 
* ' Stow (the commissary) and Stoddard (one of the survey- 
ors) came from Sodus, on Lake Ontario, with information 
that three boats were cast away, but no lives or property 
lost; in consequence of which we left Canandaiqua the 
31st of May for Gerundicut (Irondequoit), slept the first 
night at Howe's in Boughton town. 

" June 1 st. Went to the landing to see our boat, but 
as it had not arrived, Porter, Stow and myself embarked 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



29 



on Dunbar's boat, to go to the great lake to meet our 
boat, but as luck would have it, we went in the boat 
about half a mile to the landing, unloaded, and Porter 
with four hands returned to Little Sodus, to give relief to 
those who were cast away, and Stow and myself with our 
hands encamped on the Gerundicut. Built a bark hut, 
and the men lodged in it the first night. Stow and my- 
self lodged on the floor at Dunbar's. 

" June 3rd, Gen. Cleaveland at evening arrived at Can- 
andaiqua and gave us information that the boats had gone 
from Whitestown to Fort Stanwix, and Mr. Stow got a 
letter from the British Minister, or charge des' affaires, 
to the commanding officer at Fort Oswego, requesting 
permission for our boats to pass unmolested. This in- 
formation, together with the 
favorable prospect of wind 
and weather at that time, gave 
us great hopes that the stores 
would get on safely and rap- 
idly, but on Saturday morn- 
ing there sprang up in the 
northwest a storm, and blew 
most violently on the shore 
of the lake. This proved 
fatal to one of the boats, and 
damaged another very much, 
though we went a little for- 
ward to a safe harbor, and 
built several fires on the bank of the lake, as a bea- 
con to those coming on. After the disaster had hap- 
pened, the boat that was safe went on to the Gerun- 
dicut with a load, and left the other three, including 
the one that was stove, at Little Sodus, encamped 
near the lake. Among the passengers were two 
families, one of the women with a little child. • 
Started from Canandaiqua, and arrived on the morning 
of the 4th. All these misfortunes happened in con- 
sequence of not having liberty to pass the fort at Oswe- 




JOSHUA STOW. 



jo THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, 

go. 26 Such are the effects of allowing the British government 

to exist on the continent of America." 

On June 17, the journal records the fact that "at even- 
ing we got to Skinner's tavern, at Buffalo creek." On 
the 1 8th: il Porter and myself went on the creek in a 
hark canoe, a-fishing, and caught only three little ones." 
On Sunday, June 19th: " Left Buffalo in Winney's boat, 
for Chippewa, had a fair wind down, and arrived about 
one o'clock at Chippewa, dined at Fanning 's, found our 
goods were not at the Gore, in Chippewa, and was obliged 
to go to Queenstown after them, and as I could not get a 
horse was obliged to walk. I got to Queenstown before 
night, and lodged at Caleb Ingersoll's; next morning set 
out for Buffalo. On the way I stopped to look at Niagara 
Falls. That river a little above Fort Slusher, is two and 
one half miles wide. Soon after this the water is very 
rapid, and continuing on, is hurried with amazing impet- 
uosity down the most stupendous precipice perhaps in 
nature. There is a fog continually arising, occasioned by 
the tumbling of the water, which, in a clear morning, is 
seen from Lake Erie, at the distance of thirty or forty 
miles, as is the noise also heard. As the hands were very 
dilatory in leaving Chippewa, we were obliged to encamp 
on the great island in the river. We struck a fire and 
cooked some squirrels and pigeons, and a young part- 
ridge. I slept very sound all night, between a large log 
and the bank of the river. The next day arrived at Buf- 
falo." 

It was at the point last named that General Cleaveland 
was permitted to fulfill, in a measure, one of the duties 

26 The above patriotic outburst requires a word of explanation. Oswego 
was still in the hands of the British, and when Mr. Stow asked permission 
to pass the fort with his boats, he was refused by the officer in charge. 
In face of this refusal he slipped by on a dark night and his boats passed 
safely into Lake Ontario. The delay because of these negotiations caused 
him to be caught in a storm with the loss above recorded. The fort at 
Oswego and that at Niagara were both at that time under contract of 
delivery to the United States, in accordance with the provisions of Jay's 
treaty. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ji 

with which he had been charged by those under whose 
authority he was acting. Although various treaties had 
been made with the Indians, by which it was supposed 
they had given up all claims to the lands east of the Cuya- 
hoga, the party were met at Buffalo by a claim which, if 
not adjusted, would be certain to create trouble in the 
present, and danger to the new settlements of the future. 

The General was confronted by representatives of the 
Mohawk and Seneca Indians, headed by the famous Red 
Jacket, and Joseph Brant otherwise known to fame by 
his Indian name of Thayendanega, who were determined 
to use force if necessary, to oppose the further progress 
of the expedition toward the West. In the skill and ad- 
dress with which he met this danger and averted it, the 
General showed himself a diplomat as well as a soldier. 
A conference, or council, was arranged. " At two 
o'clock this afternoon," we learn from the record of Sur- 
veyor Holley, ' ' the council fire with the Six Nations was 
uncovered, and at evening was again covered until 
morning, when it was opened again, and after some con- 
siderable delay, Captain Brant gave General Cleaveland 
a speech in writing. 

" The chiefs, after this, were determined to get drunk. 
No more business was done this day. In the evening the 
Indians had one of their old ceremonial dances, where one 
gets up and walks up and down between them, singing 
something, and those who sit around keep tune by grunt- 
ing. Next morning, which was the 23rd, after several 
speeches back and forth, from Red Jacket to General 
Cleaveland, Captain Chapin, Brant, etc., General Cleave- 
land answered Brant's speech. In short, the business 
was concluded in this way. General Cleaveland offered 
Brant one thousand dollars as a present. Brant, in an- 
swer, told General Cleaveland that their minds were 
easily satisfied, but that they thought his offer was not 
enough, and added this to it, that if he would use his in- 
fluence with the United States to procure an annuity of 
five hundred dollars par, and if this should fail that the 



3 2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Connecticut Land Company should, in a reasonable time, 
make an additional present of one thousand five hundred 
dollars, which was agreed to. The Mohawks are to give 
one hundred dollars to the Senecas, and Cleaveland eave 
two beef cattle and whisky to make a feast for them." 

In return for the payments above promised, and the 
agreement to intercede with the government, it was 
guaranteed by the chiefs that the settlers upon the Re- 
serve should not be molested: and this agreement, so far 
as they were concerned, was faithfully carried out. 

Our recording surveyor pauses for a moment in his nar- 
ration of events to relate a side incident which casts a 
light upon the shrewd philosophy of one of these children 
of the forests: " Farmer's Brother. Red Jacket and Lit- 
tle Billy and Green Grass Hopper dined with the com- 
missioners. In the course of conversation. Red Jacket 
gave his sentiments upon religion, which were to this pur- 
pose : ' You white people make a great parade about re- 
ligion : you say you have a book of laws and rules which 
was given you by the Great Spirit, but is this true? YVas 
it written by his own hand and given to you? Xo.' says 
he. 'it was written by your own people. They do it to 
deceive you. Their whole wishes center here (pointing 
to his pocketi: all they want is the money, dt happened 
there was a priest in the room at the same time who 
heard him. | He says white people tell them they wish 
to come and live among them as brothers and learn them 
agriculture. So they bring on implements of husbandry 
and presents, tell them good stories, and all appears hon- 
est. But when they are gone all appears as a dream. 
'Our land is taken from us, and still we don't know how 
to farm it.' " This seems, in some respects, a very 
shrewd presentation of the vexed ' ' Indian question ' ' at 
an early day. 

These formidable powers having been conciliated, the 
expedition again moved westward, in two divisions, as be- 
fore : one by land and the other by Lake Erie. On the 
4th dav of July, at 6 p. m., they reached the mouth of 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



33 



Conneaut Creek. They were at last upon the Reserve, 
and as their arrival was upon a date made memorable by 
the stirring Declaration of but twenty years before, these 
patriotic sons of Connecticut naturally celebrated as 
seemed most fitting, and with such means of rejoicing as 
were at command. 

There have been many celebrations of our nation's 
natal day upon the Western Reserve since its opening to 
civilization one hundred years ago, but there have per- 
haps been none more hearty and patriotic 27 than this first 
one, held in sight of beautiful Erie, and among the woods 
of Conneaut. 

We can see this little band of fifty, drawn the more 
closely together because they were so few in number, 
and so far from home and kindred, uniting with each 
other in song, in toast and hearty expressions of good 
will. The day had been serene, the foliage about them 
was in its best shades of summer green, the little creek 
wound thread-like between its banks, and out beyond the 
water of blue Erie sparkled in the setting sun. 28 There 

-" Extract from the journal of General Cleaveland: "On this creek 
(Conneaught), in New Connecticut land, July 4th, 1796, under General 
Moses Cleaveland, the surveyors, and men sent by the Connecticut Land 
Company to survey and settle the Connecticut Reserve, and were the first 
English people who took possession of it. The day, memorable as the 
birthday of American Independence, and freedom from British tyranny, 
and commemorated by all good free-born sons of America, and memorable 
as the day on which the settlement of this new country was commenced, 
and in time may raise her head amongst the most enlightened and im- 
proved States. And after many difficulties, perplexities, and hardships 
were surmounted, and we were on the good and promised land, felt that 
a just tribute of respect to the day ought to be paid. There were in all, 
including men, women and children, fifty in number." — Whittlesey's 
" Early History of Cleveland," p. 181. 

28 This celebration has usually been treated as an elaborate, all- day 
affair, but the letter written by General Cleaveland on July 5th, the day 
following, to Oliver Phelps and found among the Phelps letters already 
quoted, would seem opposed to that view. He says : ' ' We sailed from 
Buffalo Creek a week yesterday, and having head winds and very heavily 
loaded, with much perseverance was able to reach this place (Conneaut 
Creek) yesterday at 6 p. ;//." This would still permit the celebration to 
occur in daylight, at that season of the year. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



was much lacking of the needs and devices of civiliza- 
tion, but thev were hardv men, well used to roueh serv- 
ice, and to whom there were but a half dozen essentials 
of life just then — food, drink, clothing, shelter and am- 
munition. 

The new nag of the new nation was flung to the breeze. 
Tables were arranged, and baked beans and pork showed 
Avell in evidence. "' We gave three cheers," savs Cleave- 
land. " and christened the place Port Independence." 
Salutes of musketry, under command of Captain Joseph 
Tinker, were fired — one for each State in the Union, and 
one for Xew Connecticut; and toasts proposed, of which 
the chronicler last quoted gives a list : 

i st. " The President of the United States." 

2nd. "The State of Xew Connecticut." 

3rd. " The Connecticut Land Company." 

4th. " May the Port of Independence and the fifty sons 
and daughters who have entered it this day be successful 
and prosperous. 

5th. " May these sons and daughters multiply in six- 
teen years sixteen times fifty." 

6th. " May every person have his bowsprit trimmed 
and ready to enter any port that opens." 

It is with no small regret that we fail to report the 
speeches made upon that occasion — for speech there must 
have been, set or otherwise, among these patriotic sons 
of Xew England. Xo record of these was made, as Sur- 
veyor Holley and his associates were more interested in 
recording township boundaries and noting variations of 
the compass, than the Fourth of July outbursts of a little 
band of strangers in the new countrv.~ J 

-' Judge John Barr. in the '* National Magazine " for December. 1S45. 
says : ' ' The sons of revolutionary sires, some of them sharers of themselves 
in the great baptism of the republic, they made the anniversary of their 
country' s freedom a day of ceremonial and rejoicing. • • • Mustering 
their numbers, they sat them down on the eastward shore of the stream 
now known as Conneaut, and, dipping from the lake the liquor in which 
they pledged their country — their goblets some tin cups of no rare work- 
manship, yet every way answerable — with the ordnance accompaniment 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 35 

When General Cleaveland tells us that the celebration 
" closed with three cheers; drank several pails of grog, 
supped, and retired in good order, ' ' we have no right 
to assume that a bibulous set of individuals had been sent 
upon this important mission. They drank no more and 
no less than was the custom of their day, and of the com- 
munities in which they lived. This was, beyond doubt, 
the first celebration of Independence Day upon the Reserve. 

On the day following, the actual work of the expedition 
was commenced. General Cleaveland wrote to the direct- 
ors of the company, reporting progress ; and two boats 
under command of Captain Tinker were sent to Fort Erie 
to bring on a portion of the stores that had been tempora- 
rily left there. The men were set to work at cutting 
timber, and erecting a large log structure for temporary 
accommodation, which was named "Castle Stow," in 
honor of Commissary Joshua Stow. It was constructed 
of unhewn logs, roofed with a combination thatch of 
brush, wild grasses and sod. We are told by Harvey 
Rice that " the style of architecture was entirely unique, 
and its uncouth appearance such as to provoke the laugh- 
ter of the builders, and the ridicule of the Indians." 

These red natives of the soil were moved by yet an- 
other impulse that had a serious side, as they saw these 
preparations for permanent occupation. They could not 
understand just what was contemplated, but saw that 
something was on foot that boded no good for their con- 
tinued possession of the soil. An explanation was de- 
manded. The manner in which the demand was made is 
thus related by General Cleaveland himself : 

" Received a message from the Paqua chief of the Mas- 
sasagoes, residing in Conneaut, that they wished a coun- 
cil held that day. I prepared to meet them, and after 
they were all seated, took my seat in the middle. Cato, 

of two or three fowling pieces discharging the required salute— the first 
settlers of the Reserve spent their landing-day as became the sons of the 
Pilgrim Fathers— as the advance pioneers of a population that has since 
made the then wilderness of Northern Ohio to blossom as the rose." 



3 6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

son of Paqua, was the orator; Paqua dictated. They 
opened the council by smoking the pipe of peace and 
friendship. The orator then rose and addressed me in 
the language of Indian flattery, ' Thank The Great Spirit 
for preserving and bringing me there. Thank The Great 
Spirit for giving a pleasant day, ' and then requested to 
know our claim to the land, as they had friends who re- 
sided on the land, and others at a distance who would 
come there. They wanted to know what I would do 
with them. I replied, informing them of our title and 
what I had said to the Six Nations, and also assured 
them that they should not be disturbed in their posses- 
sions ; we would treat them and their friends as brothers. 
They then presented me with the pipe of friendship and 
peace, a curious one, indeed. I returned a chain of wam- 
pum, silver trinkets, and other presents, and whisky, to 
the amount of about twenty-five dollars. They also said 
they were poor ; and as I had expressed, hoped we should 
be friendly and continue to be liberal. I told them I 
acted for others as well as for myself, and to be liberal 
of others' property was no evidence of true friendship; 
those people I represented lived by industry, and to give 
away their property lavishly to those who live in indo- 
lence and by begging, would be no deed of charity. As 
long as they were industrious and conducted themselves 
well, I would do such benevolent acts to them as would 
be judged right and would do them the most good ; cau- 
tioned them against indolence and drunkenness. This 
not only closed the business, but checked their begging 
for more whisky." 

After this second council with the Indians, the General 
addressed himself squarely to the work in hand, which 
was to lay out a part of the Reserve into townships five 
miles square, and the townships into one hundred acre 
lots. The surveyors were assigned to their respective 
labors, and set out upon the fulfillment thereof. 

It is our immediate mission to follow only those who 
proceeded westward toward the Cuyahoga. In a couple 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 37 

weeks Cleaveland selected certain of his staff, and 
with them proceeded in an open boat along the shore of 
Erie, until he reached a stream that he concluded was the 
Cuyahoga, which was his objective point. He proceeded 
up it, as rapidly as the sandbanks and fallen timber would 
permit, and soon found that he had made the mistake of 
entering a stream not laid down upon his map. It is de- 
clared by some authorities that in commemoration of this 
error, and of his consequent disappointment over delay, 
he called the stream " the Chagrin " — an appellation 
which it retains to-day. 

Retracing their way to the lake, the little party sailed 
and rowed still westward, and on the morning of July 
22nd. in the year 1796, passed into the Cuyahoga, and 
stood upon its eastern bank near the entrance to the lake. 

No formal ceremony marked this entrance of civiliza- 
tion, in the persons of Moses Cleaveland and his men. 
upon the spot where within the corning century a great 
city was to be reared. As a matter of fact, the landing 
was very commonplace in its character. " They reached 

w The authorities do not agree upon this point. Whittlesey's " Early- 
History of Cleveland." p. 213. says: "Much discussion has taken place 
upon the origin of the name of the Chagrin River. Thomas Hutchins in 
his ' Topographical Description of Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc. , ' in 1787 
notices a stream by the name of Shaguin, which is said to mean in some 
Indian language, the ' clear water.' On Hutchins s map of 1764 no im- 
portant streams are given between the ' Cyahoga ' and Presque Isle. It 
is thus not easy to determine what river is meant by the Shaguin. The 
surveyors all speak of it as then known, as the Chagrin. Grand River is 
a name evidently of French origin, its Indian name being ' Sheauga, ' from 
whence the term Geauga is derived, by a very natural corruption. It is 
highly probable that Chagrin is a title given by the French traders to this 
stream, from some accident or suffering such as occurred at Misery Ri-.-er 
of Lake Superior. ' ' In the ' ' Journal of a Tour, ' ' already quoted, we find 
these words: " The Shaugin River, emptying into Lake Erie, is a small 
but remarkably clear stream, boatable about ten miles, affording good 
mill seats, and abounding in excellent fish." Rev. John Seward, who 
came to the Reserve as a missionary in i3i2, writing of the Chagrin in 
1 83 1, says: "It had long been known by that name on account of the 
wreck and suffering of a French crew at or near its mouth. ' ' Mr. Seward 
was much given to historical research, was cultured, and of marked liter- 
ary abilitv. 



3 8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the veritable Cuyahoga," says Mr. Rice, 31 with that dry 
humor that was so telling and characteristic, " and after 
advancing a short distance in its channel, attempted to 
land, but in their efforts to do so ran their boat into the 
marshy growth of wild vegetation which skirted the east- 
erly bank of the river, and stranded her. Here ' Moses,' 
like his ancient name's sake, found himself cradled in the 
bullrushes. This occurred near the foot of Union Lane, 
which was at that time the termination of an Indian trail. 
The party soon succeeded in effecting a safe landing. 
They then ascended the precipitous bluff, which over- 
looked the valley of the river, and were astonished to find 
a broad and beautiful plain of woodland stretching far 
away to the east, west and south of them, and lying at an 
elevation of some eighty feet above the dark blue waters 
of Lake Erie. The entire party became enamored of the 
scene." 

' ' A young growth of oaks with low bushy tops covered 
the ground," adds Col. Whittlesey, 32 in. further descrip- 
tion of the scene. " Beneath them were thrifty bushes, 
rooted in a lean but dry and pleasant soil, favorable to the 
object in view. A smooth and even field sloped gently 
toward the lake, whose blue waters could be seen extend- 
ing to the horizon." 

Those who in a mental vision can reconstruct the scene, 
with the lake, and river, and wooded land; with no sign 
of habitation or the work of man ; with the Cuyahoga at 
their feet, and the hills rising above it; with no rise of 
smoke in all the landscape; green leaves above them, and 
verdant carpets beneath their feet ; a fair sky shining over 
it all, can well understand how the beauty and fitness of 
the place for the purposes they had in mind were im- 
pressed upon the visitors, and that then and there was born 
the fruitful thought out of which this fair and prosperous 
Forest City has grown. 

31 ' ' Pioneers of the Western Reserve, ' ' by Harvey Rice, Cleveland, 
1881, p. 58. 

32 " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 1, p. 23. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. j 9 

General Cleaveland decided — not just then, but a little 
later — that the main town of such portion of the Reserve 
as lay within his jurisdiction should be built here. His 
prophetic eye was true in its investigation of the future, 
and although his little city was for a time humiliated by 
being described as " six miles from Newburgh," where 
the grist-mill was — all later developments have shown 
that in no better place could the metropolis of the Re- 
serve have been built. 

The 5th of August found the General back again at 
Port Independence (Conneaut Creek), where he made a 
lengthy report to the home company, 33 giving his views 
upon various things in a plain and by no means optimistic 
manner. After touching upon affairs in the eastern sec- 
tion of the Reserve, he says: 

" The Cuyahoga is navigable for sloops about eight 
miles as the river runs, and for boats to the portage, if 
the immense quantity of trees drove down and lodged are 
cleared out. The land excellent, the water clear and 
lively current, and streams and springs falling into all 
three rivers. 34 We went in a Schenectady boat, the ' Cuy- 
ahoga, ' about twenty-five miles to the old Moravian In- 
dian town, and I imagine on a meridian line, not more 
than twelve or fifteen miles. Here the bottoms widen, 
and as I am informed, increase in width, and if possible 
in quality. I believe we could have proceeded further 
up the river, but found the time allotted, and the provis- 
ion inadequate to perform the whole route. At this 
place we found a stream, that empties into the river, 
which will make a good mill seat. The lands on the lake 
shore, in some places low, here and there a small cran- 
berry pond, not of any great extent, nor discovered low 
drowned lands of any bigness for twenty or thirty miles 
on the lake shore. On the east of the Cuyahoga are clay 

33 In the Phelps letters, "Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," 
Vol. III., No. 1, p. 73. 

34 He probably refers to the Cuyahoga and two other rivers he had been 
examining — the Grand and " the one called Ashtabula, now Mary Easter." 



4 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

banks from twenty to forty feet high, on the top the land 
level, covered with chestnut, oak, walnut, ash, and some 
sugar maple. There are but few hemlocks, and those 
only on a swamp, pond or lake, and in the immense 
quantity of flood wood lodged on the lakes and rivers, I 
rarely found any of that wood. The shore west of the 
mouth of the Cuyahoga is a steep bank for ten miles, the 
quality of the soil I know not, but from the growth and 
kind of timber, these present no unfavorable aspect. I 
should with great pleasure, readily comply with what I 
suppose you have heretofore expected that I should leave 
this country about this time. I have not as yet been in- 
terrupted in a constant attention to business, more than I 
could have imagined or would have voluntarily entered 
into, and I see no prospect of its lessening at present. 
Those who are meanly envying the compensation and 
sitting at their ease and see their prosperity increasing at 
the loss of health, ease, and comfort of others, I wish 
might experience the hardships for one month ; if not 
then satisfied their grumbling would give me no pain. I 
apprehend the stagnant waters in Lake Erie (except to the 
westward) must be of small dimensions. The interior 
lakes and ponds, though not included in Livingston's com- 
putation, are, I expect, few and small, unless the land 
bears more to the northwest, after it passes the Cuyahoga 
than it does this side, the surplus will not be consequen- 
tial. It is impossible at present to determine on the 
place for the capital. More information of the extent of 
the ceded lands and ye traverse of the lakes and rivers 
wanted, this will cause delay and require examination. 
I believe it will be on the Cuyahoga it must command 
the greatest communication, either by land or water of 
any other place on the purchase or on any ceded lands 
west of the head of the Mohawk. I expect soon to leave 
this for the westward, and shall make my residence there 
until I am ready to return to Connecticut. The men are 
remarkably healthy, though without sauce or vegetables, 
and in good spirits. I hope they will continue so." 




Plan ok the City of Cleveland by Seth Pease; 1796. 



' THE HISTORY OE CLEVELAND. 41 

A survey of the land chosen for the new city was or- 
dered. A mile square was the area then covered. Two 
surveys were made — one by Amos Spafford, and one by 
Seth Pease ; both under the superintendence of Augustus 
Porter. The result was the preparation of two maps, one 
by each of the surveyors, and known to local annals as 
*' Spafford's Map," and " Pease's Map." 

The Spafford map was found among the papers of John 
Milton Holley, at Salisbury, Conn., in possession of his 
son, Gov. Alexander H. Holley. This endorsement, in 
the handwriting of Amos, is found upon it: " Original 
plan of the town and village of Cleveland, Ohio, Oct. 1st, 
1796." The inap was made by pasting several sheets of 
foolscap together. Superior street at first appears as 
" Broad," which was obliterated, and the present name 
substituted. The Public Square 35 is shown by a blank 
space, like an enlargement of the streets crossing each 
other at that point ; Ontario had been first named 
" Court," which was erased. " On the face of the orig- 
inal," to again quote Col. Whittlesey, " there are the 
numbers of the lots — two hundred and twenty in num- 
ber; the streets Superior, Water, Mandrake, Union, Vine- 
yard, Bath, Lake, Erie, Federal, Maiden, Ontario, Huron, 
Ohio and Miami — fourteen in number, and the names of 
the parties who had selected lots. These were : Stoddard, 
lot 49, northeast corner of Water and Superior streets; 
Stiles, lot 53, northeast corner of Bank and Superior 
-Streets; Landon, lot 77, directly opposite, on the south 

35 That now historic park in the very center of Cleveland's business sec- 
tion was laid out as the Public Square, and so should have remained to 
the end of time. Some word-tinker thought otherwise after the memorial 
to Commodore Perry had been located at the junction of Superior and 
Ontario streets, and on April 16th, 1861, an ordinance was passed by the 
City Council declaring that " such portion of the public ground of the city 
of Cleveland as is at present known and commonly called the Public 
Square be, and the same shall be known and designated as Monumental 
Square." (See codified ordinances, passed March 12th, 1S77, in which 
the above action is confirmed. ) Happily the Cleveland public had a bet- 
ter sense of the fitness of things than the Councils of 1861 and 1877, and 
the Public Square it yet is in popular speech, and that appellation will be 
used here whenever Cleveland's first park is referred to. 



42 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 

side of Superior street ; Baum, lot 65, sixteen rods east of 
the Public Square; Shepherd, lot 69, and Chapman, lot 
72, all on the north side of the same street. ' Pease's 
Hotel,' as they styled the surveyor's cabin, is placed on 
the line between lots 202 and 203, between Union street 
and the river. Northwest of it, about ten rods, on lot 
201, their store house is laid down. Vineyard, Union and 
Mandrake streets were laid out to secure access to the 
upper and lower landings on the river. Bath street pro- 
vided a way of reaching the lake shore and the mouth of 
the river." 

Even a city as yet only upon paper must have a name, 
and the question as to a title for the capital of New Con- 
necticut, which had probably been under consideration 
for some time, now demanded settlement. The name 
" Cuyahoga " had been proposed, and there are letters in 
existence showing that it was in use to designate the pres- 
ent location of Cleveland. General Cleaveland confessed 
himself unequal to the task, and, we are told, " upon the 
earnest suggestion and advice of the surveyors," was per- 
suaded to make use of his own name, and thus " Cleave- 
land, New Connecticut," took its place upon the yet im- 
perfect and uncertain maps of the Great West. 

Just when and by whom the letter " a " was first 
dropped from the name has never been definitely deter- 
mined. The early records vary in their custom, some 
following the spelling adopted by the city's founder, and 
others the more convenient mode that in later days be- 
came universal by general consent. In Judge Gris wold's 
admirable paper, elsewhere quoted at some length, on the 
corporate birth and growth of Cleveland, we find this 
statement: " There was first made (in these early sur- 
veys) a rough field note on which these lots, streets and 
grounds were marked and laid out, but a more perfect and 
complete map was made by Seth Pease and finished be- 
fore the 1 st of October of that year (1796). On this old 
field map, there was written in fair hand, as well to per- 
petuate the General's memory, as the event itself, ' The 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 43 

City of Cleveland.' In the spelling, the letter ' a ' in the 
first syllable always used by the General himself was 
omitted." 36 

There may be found in the office of the city clerk of 
Cleveland a small and dingy book, with leaves yellowed 
by time, edges worn away, and the leather cover black 
and mouldy with decay. It contains the records of the 
township of Cleveland, commencing with 1803, and in this 
the name is almost altogether spelled with the " a," until 
about 1832 or 1833. 

When the " Cleaveland Herald " came into existence, in 
1 8 19, it was loyal to the General, in that it used his name 
without omitting a letter, and so continued up to 1832, 
when there is a break in the files at the rooms of the 
Western Reserve Historical Society from April 12 th to 
June 8th, 1833, on which latter date it is found without the 
added letter. 

One of the many and varied statements made upon the 
subject is found in the following, from the pen of Hon. 
A. J. Williams: 37 " Some years before his death, Gen. 
A. S. Sanford, an old settler and printer in Cleveland, 
and one of our most valued citizens, related to me the 
circumstances that occasioned the dropping of the first 
1 a ' in the original name of our city, ' Cleaveland. ' The 
letter was not omitted in the ' Herald ' until 1832, but 
prior to that date, the ' Cleaveland Advertiser ' was 

36 Extract from a paper entitled, ' ' The Original Surveys of Cleveland, ' ' 
by Samuel J. Baker, in "Journal of the Association of Engineering 
Societies," New York, August, 1884, p. 217: " There is in the office of the 
city civil engineer on the first page of a volume entitled, ' Maps and 
Profiles, Vol. I. , ' a map entitled, 'A Plan of the City of Cleaveland. ' There 
is in the lower right-hand corner a rather quaint picture, representing two 
Indians, one with a gun, standing on a plain. To the left is a tent, on 
which is painted the above title, and to its left a tree. In the background 
are some hills." This map is accompanied by a statement made by I. N. 
Pillsbury, city civil engineer, that it is an accurate transcript made by him 
in 1842, from the original map and minutes of the survey of Cleveland, 
made in 1796 by Seth Pease. In this copy the name of the city contains- 
the extra "a." 

37 " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," Vol. III., No. 3, p. 367. 



44 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

published. General Sanford said the paper for the 
! Advertiser ' was purchased from the paper mill at Cuya- 
hoga Falls; that for one issue thereof the paper re- 
ceived was too small for the heading- ' Cleaveland Ad- 
vertiser, ' and that to use the same, it became necessary 
to drop from the heading the ' a ' from the name ' Cleave- 
land.' This was done, and from about that time the 
name of the village and of our city became Cleveland." 38 

A more plausible theory, and one that bears a closer 
mark of genuineness, is stated as follows: That when 
the " Herald" was being printed, a " sheep's foot," — 
something any old printer will know all about — struck the 
letter "A" in the heading, and so battered it that it was 
useless. As new type could not be had this side of 
Buffalo, or perhaps New York or Philadelphia, the dam- 
aged "A" was left out, and never again found its place in 
the heading. J. A. Howells, an Ashtabula editor, says 
that when his father was clerk of the Ohio Senate, about 
1856, one of the members of the legislature, who had 
been a printer on the " Herald," made the above state- 
ment as one of fact, and that J. A. Harris, for years 
editor of that newspaper, confirmed it. Mr. Howells 
adds, in answer to the Sanford theory, that he compared 
issues of the " Herald," both before and after the drop- 
ping of the "A," and found there had been no change — 
that the paper was of the same size right along. S8a 

In returning to the original surveys, we can do no bet- 

38 From a speech delivered by Hon. Rufus P. Spalding before the Early- 
Settlers' Association, in 1880: " ' The town was called by my name,' said 
the General, and so it was, C-l-e- a-v-e-1-a-n-d ; and that was the way in 
which the name was spelled, written and printed, until an act of piracy 
was committed on the word by the publisher of a newspaper, something 
over forty years ago, who, in procuring a new head-piece for his paper, 
found it convenient to increase the capacity of his iron frame by reducing 
the number of letters in the name of the city: Hence the ' Cleveland 
Advertiser,' and not Moses Cleaveland, settled the orthography of the 
Forest City's name for all time to come. Generally this story is told in 
•connection with the ' Herald ' rather than the ' Advertiser.' ' 

3 * a " Some Early History," by D. W. Manchester, " Annals of the Early 
Settlers' Association," Vol. Ill, No. 3, p. 366. 



r 




" Hl ' , 1@.B* * 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 4 5 

ter than use a copious extract from a monograph 39 pre- 
pared for presentation before the Early Settlers' Associa- 
tion, by an eminent member of the Cleveland bar, Judge 
Seneca O. Griswold. He said: 

" In the old field map, the name of Superior street was 
first written ' Broad,' Ontario ' Court,' and Miami ' Deer;' 
but these words were crossed out with ink, and the same 
names written as given in Pease's map and minutes. In 
Spafford's map, ' Maiden Lane,' which led from Ontario 
street along the side of the hill to Vineyard Lane, was 
omitted, and the same was never worked or used. Spaf- 
ford also laid out Superior Lane, which was not on the 
Pease map, which has since been widened, and become 
that portion of Superior street from Water down the hill 
to the river. Bath street is not described in the Pease 
minutes, but is laid out on the map, and is referred to in 
the minutes, and the boundaries and extent appear on the 
map. The Square also is not described in the Pease min- 
utes, but is referred to in the description of Ontario and 
Superior streets, and is marked and laid out on the map. 
In Spafford's minutes the Square is thus described : ', The 
Square is laid out at the intersection of Superior street and 
Ontario street, and contains ten acres. The center of the 
junction of the two roads is the exact center of the Square. ' 
These surveys, the laying out of the lots bounding on the 
Square, their adoption by the land company, the subse- 
quent sale by said company of the surrounding lots abut- 
ting upon it, make the Square as much land devoted to 
public use as the streets themselves, and forever forbids 
the same being given up to private uses. The easterly 
line of the city was the east line of one tier of lots, beyond 
Erie street, coinciding with the present line of Canfield 
street. The east line began at the lake and extended 
southerly one tier of lots south of Ohio street. The line 
then ran to the river, down to the river, skipping the 
lower bend of the river to Vineyard Lane, thence along 

39 " The Corporate Birth and Growth of Cleveland," by Hon. Seneca O. 
Griswold. " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 5, p. 37. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Vineyard Lane to the junction of Water with Superior 
street, thence to the river, thence down the river to its 
mouth. Superior street, as the survey shows, was 132 
feet in width, the other streets 99 feet. It is hardly pos- 
sible to fully appreciate the sagacity and foresight of this 
leader of the surveying party. With full consciousness 
of what would arise in its future growth, he knew the city 
would have a suburban population, and he directed the 
immediate outlying land to be laid off in ten-acre lots, and 
the rest of the township into 100-acre lots, instead of the 
larger tracts into which the other townships were di- 
vided. The next year the ten-acre lots were surveyed and 
laid out. They extended on the east to the line of what 
is now Willson avenue, and on the south to the top of the 
brow of the ravine formed by Kingsbury Run, and ex- 
tended westwardly to the river bank. Owing to the pe- 
culiar topography of the place, some of the two-acre lots 
had more and others less than the named quantity of land, 
and the same occurred in the survey and laying out of the 
ten-acre lots. The flats were not surveyed off into lots, 
and there was an unsurveyed strip between the west line 
of the ten-acre lots and the river, above and below the 
mouth of the Kingsbury Run, running south to a point 
west of hundred-acre lot 278. Three streets were laid out 
through the ten-acre lots, each 99 feet in width to cor- 
respond with the city streets, called the South, Middle 
and North Highway. The southerly one becoming Kins- 
man street, the Middle, Euclid street at its intersection 
with Huron; the southerly one received its name from 
the fact that Kinsman, the east township of the seventh 
line of townships, was at a very early period distinguished 
for its wealth and population. The Middle was called 
Euclid because that was the name of the next township 
east. The North Highway was a continuation of Federal 
street, but changed to St. Clair, after the name of the ter- 
ritorial governor, whose name, in the minds of his admir- 
ers, was a synonym of Federal." 

As yet no civil township had been organized in this por- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 47 

tion of the present Cuyahoga County, the territory upon 
the east side of the river being a part of Washington 
County, of the Northwest Territory. It was a question 
whether legal jurisdiction there was held by the territorial 
authorities or by the Connecticut Land Company. The 
section west of the Cuyahoga River nominally belonged 
to the county of Wayne, and, although the pre-emption 
rights had been purchased by the land company, the 
claims of the Indians had not been satisfied, and they 
were still in undisputed possession. 

The survey township, in which Cleveland was situated, 
was one of the six which had been selected to be sold for 
the direct benefit of the company as an organization, and 
not divided among the stockholders, as was the case with 
so many of the other towns of the Reserve. The plan, as 
proposed, was to first sell only a quarter of the townships ; 
and a proposition was submitted by Augustus Porter, the 
chief of the surveyors, as to the manner in which such 
sale was to be carried out. This plan has been described 
in full: " In the first place, city lots Number 58 to 63 in- 
clusive, and 81 to 87 inclusive, comprising all the lots bor- 
dering on the Public Square, and one more, were to be re- 
served for public purposes, as were also ' the point of land 
west of the town' (which we take to be the low peninsula 
southwest of the viaduct), and some other portions of the 
flats if thought advisable. Then Mr. Porter proposed to 
begin with lot number one, and offer for sale every fourth 
number in succession throughout the towns, on these 
terms. Each person who would engage to become an 
actual settler in 1797 might purchase one town lot, one 
ten or twenty-acre lot, and one hundred-acre lot, or 
as much less as he might choose ; settlement, however, 
to be imperative in every case. The price of town lots 
was to be fifty dollars ; that of ten-acre lots three dol- 
lars per acre ; that of twenty-acre lots two dollars per 
acre ; and that of hundred-acre lots a dollar and a 
half per acre. The town lots were to be paid for in 
ready cash ; for the larger tracts twenty per cent, was 



4S THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 

to be paid down, and the rest in three annual installments 
with annual interest. It will be seen that even at that time 
the projectors of Cleveland had a pretty good opinion of 
its future ; valuing the almost unbroken forest which con- 
stituted the city at twenty-five dollars per acre in cash, 
Avhile equally good land outside its limits was to be sold 
for from three dollars down to a dollar and a half per acre, 
with three years' credit." 40 

Not many incidents have been placed upon record of 
the life and labors of the little party, who, during the 
summer and early fall of 1796, were industriously engaged 
in laying the foundations of the Forest City. It was by 
no means a life of ease and pleasure — the survevors, as 
Colonel Whittlesey says, ' ' were not always sure of sup- 
per at night, nor of their drink of New England rum, 
which constituted an important part of their rations ; their 
well provided clothing began to show rents, from so much 
clambering over logs and through thickets ; their shoes 
gave out rapidly, as they were incessantly on foot, and 
were where no cobblers could be found to repair them ; 
every day was one of toil, and frequently of discomfort. 
The woods, and particularly the swamps, were filled 
with ravenous mosquitoes, which were never idle, day or 
night ; in rainy weather the bushes were wet, and in clear 
weather the heat was oppressive. It was not always prac- 
ticable to have provisions promptly delivered to the sur- 
veying parties, so that their work could go on without in- 
terruption." 

Affairs had reached a rather unpleasant strait by the 
later days of September, when the surveyors and their 
assistants, who had collected at headquarters, found them- 
selves out of meat, Avith but little flour, a couple of 
cheese, and some chocolate. As they were figuring on 
ways and means, some sharp eye saw a bear swimming- 
across the river. There was a rush for guns and canoes, 
and in the midst of the excitement the bear paused, 

4 " " History of Cuyahoga County," compiled by Crisfield Johnson, 1879, 
p. 225. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 49 

turned about, landed upon the western shore, and carried 
the anticipated fresh meat of the hungry men into the 
woods. The success attending a raid upon the reptile 
kingdom was more gratifying, as we find in Holley's 
Journal the entry: '■ Munson caught a rattlesnake, which 
we boiled and ate. ' ' Later in the day a party with provis- 
ions and cattle came over from Conneaut, and were re- 
ceived with an unquestioned welcome. 

A readjustment of the arrangement between the Con- 
necticut Land Company and the surveyors' staff was one of 
the outcomes of the hardships of the expedition, which led 
to a greater claim for compensation than, at first, had been 
agreed upon. An informal agreement had been made in 
July, at Conneaut, General Cleaveland speaking for the 
company, and the men for themselves. 

A meeting was held " at Cleaveland " 41 on the 30th of 
September, for the purpose of carrying this agreement 
into effect. General Cleaveland signed for the company, 
and forty-one of the men for themselves. The township 
chosen for division was that next east of Cleveland ; and 
in deference to the great mathematician — a patron saint of 
the surveyor's art — the name " Euclid " was chosen as its 
designation — a suggestion credited to Moses Warren. 

It was mutually agreed that each party was to have an 
equal share in the township ; each man pledged himself 
to remain faithfully in the service of the company to the 
end of the year, and a further pledge was made as fol- 
lows: in the year 1797 there should be eleven families 
settled in the township; eleven houses built; and two 
acres of wheat sown around each house. In 1 798, eighteen 
more families were to settle ; build eighteen additional 
houses; and five acres cleared for wheat around each 
residence. Fifty acres were to be sown to grass. A 
further increase in all these respects was to be made 

41 " A contract made at Cleaveland, Sept. 30th, 1796, between Moses 
Cleaveland, agent of the Connecticut Land Company, and the employees 
of the company, in reference to the sale and settlement of the township 
of Euclid, No. 8, in the eleventh range." From memoranda of Orrin 
Harmon, Esq. " Whittlesey's Early History of Cleveland," p. 230. 



So THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

in the year following; and there must be, in 1800, 
forty-one families resident in the township. In case salt 
springs were discovered on a lot, it was to be excepted 
from the agreement, and other lands given instead. A 
meeting of the new proprietors of Euclid was held on the 
same day and in the same place, where lots were cast as 
to who were to fulfill the conditions of settlement in 
1797, in 1798, etc. 

Near the middle of October, as the premonitions of 
winter warned those who were to return to the East that 
it was time to be going, preparations were rapidly made 
for departure. By the 18th of the month the surveyors 
and their assistants were gone, leaving Joseph Landon 
and Job P. Stiles and his wife Tabitha in sole charge of 
the paper city. Elijah Gun and Anna, his wife, were in 
a like manner left in possession of Castle Stow, at Con- 
neaut. The Stileses had announced their intention of be- 
coming actual settlers, and a cabin was constructed for 
them on lot 53, on Bank street, near Frankfort street. 
Joseph Landon soon abandoned his purpose of re- 
maining permanently, and returned to the East before 
the setting in of winter. The Stileses were not left al- 
together alone, however, as Edward Paine, the subse- 
quent founder of Painesville, Lake County, became per- 
haps an inmate of their home, or at least a neighbor/' 
and began to trade with the Indians — the Chippewas, 
Ottawas, etc., who made their winter camps on the west 
side of the river, and trapped and hunted upon both sides. 
They also had as neighbors the Seneca Indians, who en- 
camped at the foot of the bluff, between Superior and 
Vineyard streets. A chief of this tribe was the famous 
Seneca, who was friendly to the whites, and is spoken of 
by those who knew him as " a noble specimen of Indian 

4 * 2 The statement is usually to the effect that Captain Paine made his 
home in the Stiles cabin. George E. Paine, of Painesville, says that he 
" never lived in Cleveland;" that he spent some part of the winter with 
Stiles, but most of it with the Indian chief ' ' Old Seneca, ' ' on the banks 
of Grand River, where Painesville is now situated. ' ' Annals of the Early 
Settlers' Association," No. 7, p. 24. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ji 

character." The Indians supplied their white neighbors 
in the cabin on the hill with game, and shoAved their 
friendship in various ways. Their hunting grounds in 
the winter were along the Cuyahoga, Mahoning, Grand, 
Tuscarawas, Black and Kilbuck, and in the spring they 
sold their furs to the traders, and sailed away in their 
bark canoes to the Sandusky and Miami, where they 
passed the summer. The last that was seen of Seneca in 
this region was as late as 1809. 

The surveyors, who worked their way back through the 
autumn weather to old Connecticut, did not have altogether 
a pleasure excursion in the going. Surveyor Holley again 
takes up the thread of narration, from which an occasional 
extract is made: " Tuesday, Oct. 18th, we left Cuyahoga 
at 3 o'clock 17 minutes for Home. We left at Cuyahoga 
Job Stiles and wife and Joseph Landon, with provisions 
for the winter. Wm. B. Hall, Titus V. Munson and 
Olney Rice engaged to take all the pack horses to Geneva. 
Day pleasant, and fair wind about southeast; rowed 
about seven and a half miles and encamped for the night 
on the beach. There were fourteen men on 
board the boat, and never, I presume, were fourteen 
men more anxious to pursue an object than we were to 
get forward." At 3 o'clock on the following morning, 
as the moon shone brightly, they hoisted sail and again 
moved eastward. " Just before sunrise we passed the 
first settlement (except those made by ourselves) that is 
on the shore of the lake in New Connecticut. This is 
done by the Canandaigua Association Co., under the di- 
rection of Mayor Wells and Mr. Wildair. ' ' They were 
compelled to run ashore because of the high wind, and 
remained in camp a mile east of the Chagrin River until 
the following day. They reached Conneaut about noon of 
the 21st, " took inventory of the articles left there, and 
about four o'clock in the morning, that is, on Saturday 
the 22nd, we hoisted sail for Presque Isle;" passed on to 
Buffalo Creek, which they reached in the evening of Oc- 
tober 23rd, struck a fire, and were asleep in less than 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



thirty minutes from the time of landing. They reached 
Canandaigua at sunset of the 29th, and proceeded from 
thence by the usual route of travel. This is the last we 
shall see of this faithful chronicler, who settled in Con- 
necticut, and raised a family, among his sons being a 
future governor of that State. 

When the party reached home with their reports, Seth 
Pease carefully prepared another map of Cleveland, that 
in its main features was like the one already described. 
The terms of sale suggested by Mr. Porter were substan- 
tially confirmed by the company, who also donated to 
Mrs. Stiles 43 one city lot, one ten-acre lot, and one one- 
hundred-acre lot in the city and township of Cleveland — 
no doubt as a recognition of the fact that she was the first 
woman resident. A one-hundred-acre lot was also given 
Mrs. Anna Gun, who had been temporarily located in 
Conneaut, but contemplated settlement in Cleveland. A 
gift of a like lot was made to James Kingsbury and 
wife — the first emigrants to the Reserve who had no 
connection whatever with the company; and also a city 
lot to Nathaniel Doan, who had acted as blacksmith for 
the company — the agreement in his case being that he 
should reside upon it, and provide for the pioneer settle- 
ment a blacksmith shop. 44 This contract was carried out, 
and among the earliest sounds of industrial toil heard in 
the new city was the ring of the hammer upon Nathaniel's 
anvil. 

43 The Stiles family left Cleveland in 1800, and the husband lived until 
1850, when he died in Leicester, Vermont. 

44 Extract from the minutes of the Connecticut Land Company: 
" Whereas, The Directors have given to Tabitha Cumi Stiles, wife of Job 
P. Stiles, one city lot, one ten-acre lot, and one one- hundred-acre lot ; to 
Anna Gun, wife of Elijah Gun, one one-hundred-acre lot ; to James Kings- 
bury and wife, one one-hundred-acre lot; to Nathaniel Doan, one city lot, 
he being obliged to reside thereon as a blacksmith, and all in the city and 
town of Cleaveland. Voted, that these grants be approved. ' ' 



CHAPTER III. 

THREE TRYING YEARS. 

Through the leafy avenues of the June that followed, 
the eyes of the waiting pioneers upon the Cuyahoga saw 
the advance guard of the second corps of surveyors who 
had been sent out for another year of labor. Some 
changes had occurred in the winter. Mr. Paine had per- 
manently departed in the early spring for a point to the 
eastward, where he laid the foundations of the little city 
that bears his name. In May, the Guns had come from 
Conneaut, thus making the second family to find a resi- 
dence in Cleveland. 

In the January preceding ( 1797), a meeting of the Con- 
necticut Land Company had been held, at which the di- 
rectors and trustees were instructed to urge upon the Leg- 
islature the expediency of erecting a county which should 
include all of the Western Reserve. A committee on 
behalf of the stockholders was appointed to inquire into 
the causes of the " very great expense of the company 
during the first year ; the causes which have prevented 
the completion of the survey; and why the surveyors and 
agents have not made their report." An assessment of 
five dollars per share of the company stock was ordered; 
and a committee of partition appointed, consisting of 
Daniel Holbrook, Moses Warren, Jr., Seth Pease and 
Amos Spafford. In the hands of another committee was 
reposed the duty of making a general inquiry into the 
conduct of the directors ; which body made a report 
in February, exonerating these officials in all respects. 
It was voted that " Moses Cleaveland's contract with 
Joseph Brant, Esq., in behalf of the Mohawks, of Grand 
River, Canada, be ratified." 

The Rev. Seth Hart was appointed superintendent of 



54 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

this second expedition, and Seth Pease the principal sur- 
veyor. Just why General Cleaveland did not return has 
not been spread upon the official record ; and it is with no 
small reluctance that we see this stalwart figure disappear 
from these pages until near a century later, when a patri- 
otic body, in the city he founded, embodied in bronze a 
lasting recognition of his services. 

In addition to the leaders above named, we find in the 
party a number of those who had gone out the year be- 
fore — particularly Amos Spafford, Richard M. Stoddard, 
Moses Warren, Joseph Landon, Theodore Shepherd, and 
Joseph Tinker. Samuel Spafford, a son of Amos, was 
one of the employees. 

Mr. Pease had charge of the funds, and the details of 
outfitting. He organized at Schenectady. He was as- 
sisted in this labor by Thomas Mather, of Albany, N. Y. 
There seems to have been a temporary dearth of funds, 
as we find this entry in the Pease journal, under date of 
April 14th: " vSpent the week thus far in getting neces- 
sary supplies. The want of ready cash subjects me to 
considerable inconvenience. Mr. Mather purchases the 
greater part on his own credit; and takes my order on 
Mr. Ephraim Root, treasurer." 

On April 15th " rations began to be issued," and on 
the 20th " six boats started up the Mohawk. Each mess 
of six men received for daily rations, chocolate, one 
pound; pork, five pounds; sugar, a small porringer; one 
bottle of rum ; one half -bottle of tea ; flour or bread not 
limited. A man, his wife and a small child, taken in one 
of the boats." They went by Fort Schuyler, Fort Stan- 
wix, Oswego Falls portage, and the garrison at Niagara, 
which they reached on May 14th. P A ive days later found 
them at Buffalo, where there awaited them the party 
which had come overland. The latter were sent ahead 
with the stock ; the expedition by boat reached Cattarau- 
gus, where they " tried to get an interpreter, but could 
not; the Indians stole eight to ten pounds of our 
pork and ham." They reached Conneaut and Port In- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 55 

dependence on the night of the 26th. " We found 
that Mr. Gun's family had removed to Cuyahoga. Mr.. 
Kingsbury, his wife and one child, were in a low state 
of health, to whom we administered what relief we 
could." 

On June 1st they reached Cleveland. The land party 
and some of the delayed boats came later, bringing the 
melancholy news that David Eldridge, one of the men, 
had been 'drowned in an attempt to swim his horse across 
Grand River. The body was brought on to Cleveland 
and buried in its first cemetery, on the east side of On- 
tario street, just north of Prospect street. The burial 
service in this, the city's first funeral, was read by the 
Rev. Mr. Hart, following the form of the Episcopal 
Church. The details of this sad accident are thus told 
by one of the surveyors * 5 in charge of the party : ' ' I was 
ordered with a party of men to take the horses and cattle 
to Cleveland. We got along very well until we got to 
Grand River ; we had no boat or other means of convey- 
ance across, except we found an old Indian bark canoe 
which was very leaky — we had one horse, which I knew 
was a good swimmer. I mounted him, and directed the 
men to drive the others after me. I had got perhaps half 
way when I heard the men on shore scream — I looked 
back and saw two men, with horses in the water, but had 
parted from them — one of them got ashore, and the other, 
David Eldridge, made poor progress. I turned my horse 
as quick as I could, and guided him up within reach of 
him, when I very inconsiderately took hold of his hand, 
as soon as I could. This turned the horse over, and we 
were both under the water in an instant ; but we sepa- 
rated, and I again mounted the horse and looked back and 
saw him just raise his head above the water, but he sunk 
to rise no more. We built a raft of flood wood, lashed 
together with barks, and placing on it three men who were 
good swimmers, they with hooks drew up the body, but 
this took some time — perhaps two hours. We took some 

45 Statement made by Amzi Atwater, in 1850. 



56 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 

pains to restore the body to life, but in vain. Two of our 
boats came up soon after with a large portion of the men. 
The}' took the body to Cleveland, and buried it in the 
then newly laid out burying ground." 46 

Headquarters were located at Cleveland, and the sur- 
veying parties went out upon their labors. The little 
town put on an appearance of activity. A piece of land 
was cleared on top of the bank, near the west end of Su- 
perior street, fenced in, and a garden planted. 

There were several notable arrivals during this year. 
One of these was Lorenzo Carter — of whom we shall hear 
anon — who came from Rutland, Vermont, and had spent 
the previous winter in Canada. He erected a log cabin 
on the lowlands near the river, not far from Union (now 

Spring) street. He was a 
man of energy, and a daring 
and successful hunter, who 
soon made his presence felt 
in various ways, and left an 
impress upon the community. 
Near the same time came 
his brother-in-law, Ezekiel 
Hawlev. 

Another, arrival of impor- 
tance was that of James 
Kingsbury, whose brief resi- 
dence in Conneaut has been 
noted above. His experience in the wilderness, probably 
similar to that of many other early settlers, was one of 
extreme privation and hardship, and as an illustrative 
case I relate it somewhat in full. Col. Whittlesey speaks 
of him as " the first adventurer on his own account, who 
arrived on the company's purchase," and we have already 

46 Statement of Alonzo Carter (son of Lorenzo Carter) made in 185S: 
" Persons were buried in the old burying ground in 1797. A Mr. Eldridge 
was drowned at Grand River, and his body was brought here. We got 
some boards and made a strong box for a coffin. We put him in, and 
strung it on a pole with cords, to earn* him up to the burying ground. 
Built a fence around the grave. ' ' 




THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 57 

noted the gracious and generous manner in which the 
company recognized that fact. He came from Alsted, 
New Hampshire, and arrived at Conneaut soon after the 
first appearance of the surveyors. He was accompanied 
by his wife and three children. 

When the surveyors had gone home in the fall of 1796, 
the exigencies of the situation demanded his return to his 
old New England home. He made the journey by way 
of Erie, Buffalo and Canandaigua, on horseback, and ex- 
pected to complete it within four to six weeks. He 
reached the old home with no special delay or accident, 
but was there attacked by fever. As soon as he dared 
mount a horse he set out for home, filled with anxiety for 
those who were awaiting his return. He reached Buffalo 
in a state of exhaustion, on December 3rd, and on the 
following day pushed forward into the snowy wilderness. 
He was accompanied by an Indian guard. For three 
weeks the snow fell without intermission, until at places 
it was up to the chin. Weak in body, and full of trouble 
for his loved ones, he pushed on and on, although it was 
December 24th before his cabin was reached. His horse 
had died from exhaustion, and he was not in a much bet- 
ter condition. 

Meanwhile the wife and children subsisted as best they 
could. The Indians supplied her with meat until the 
real weather of winter came on. She had for company a 
nephew of her husband's, a boy of thirteen, whose es- 
pecial charge was a yoke of oxen and a cow. Day after 
day went by, and still her husband did not come ; and as 
if cold and loneliness were not enough, the supreme pain 
of motherhood was added, and the first white native son 
of the Reserve became a member of the household. 

She had regained sufficient strength to move about the 
house, and had about decided to remove to Erie, when 
toward evening she looked up, and her husband was at 
the door. 

Mrs. Kingsbury was then taken with fever ; the food left 
by the surveyors was about exhausted ; and the snow pre- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

vented calls upon their Indian friends. Before his 
strength had fully returned. Mr. Kingsbury was forced to 
make a journey to Erie, to procure food. He could not 
take the oxen, because of the lack of a path through the 
snow, and so he set forth hauling a hand sled. He 
reached Erie, obtained a bushel of wheat, and hauled it 
back to Conneaut, where it was cracked and boiled and 
eaten. The cow died from the effects of eating the 
browse of oak trees, and with it gone, the chances of life 
for the little one were meagre indeed. In a month it 
died. Mr. Kingsbury and the boy made a rude coffin 
from a pine box which the surveyors had left. li As 
thev carried the remains from the house, the sick mother 
raised herself in bed, following with her eyes the lonely 
party, to a rise of ground where they had dug a grave. 
She fell backward, and for two weeks was scarcely con- 
scious of what was passing, or what had passed. Late in 
February or early in March, Mr. Kingsbury, who was still 
feeble, made an effort to obtain something which his 
wife could eat, for it was evident that nutriment was her 
principal necessity. The severest rigors of winter began 
to relax. Instead of fierce northern blasts, sweeping over 
the frozen surface of the lake, there were southern 
breezes, which softened the snow and moderated the at- 
mosphere. Scarcely able to walk, he loaded an old 
* Queen's Arm ' which his uncle had carried in the War of 
the Revolution, and which is still in the keeping of the 
familv. He succeeded in reaching the woods, and sat 
down upon a log. A solitary pigeon came, and perched 
upon the highest branches of a tree. It was not only 
high, but distant. The chances of hitting the bird were 
few indeed, but a human life seemed to depend upon 
those chances. A single shot found its way to the mark, 
and the bird fell. It was well cooked and the broth given 
to the wife, who was immediately revived." 4T 

When the surveyors came to Cleveland in 1797. the 
Kingsburv family came with them. There was a dilapi- 

4 " "Whittlesey's Earlv Historv of Cleveland." r. 26=. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



59 



dated house on the Avest side of the river, probably 
where Main and Center streets now intersect — a log 
house M — which, it is usually stated, was left by the early 
traders with the Indians; and it sheltered them, while a 
more substantial cabin was being put up east of the Pub- 
lic Square, near the present location of Case block. 




>I.I>E>T HOUSE IX 



'LEVELAND. 



Judge Kingsbury — so called because of his later appoint- 
ment as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Trum- 
bull County — was of no small prominence in his day and 
generation. In December, 1797, he again removed, this 
time to a point upon the bluff on the line from Doan's 

4 ~ Colonel Whittlesey, in that treasure-house from which we have so fre- 
quently drawn ( " Early History of Cleveland," p. 266). says: " The old set- 
tlers think it was erected by the French, but it was more probably done by 
the English, who were here soon after the peace of 1 763. It was a better build- 
ing than the French were in the habit of putting up in such remote places. 
It had been a comfortable and capacious log storehouse." New light is 
thrown upon the question by researches which have been carried on since 
the days of Colonel Whittlesey. In a recently printed monograph from 
the pen of C. M. Burton, Detroit, 1S95, entitled " A Chapter in the History 
of Cleveland," the details are given of an attempt to secure by purchase 
from the Indians of "a large part of the land covered by the present city 
of Cleveland," on the part of Alexander Henry, John Askin, and others. 
As a part of this programme, " John Askin. Jr., was sent to take actual 
possession of the tract, and he built or occupied a hut on the west side of 
Cuyahoga River, a little back of where it emptied into the lake." There 



6o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

corners to Newburgh, where he lived to the end of his 
life, which came on December 12th, 1847. 

The year 1797 saw a marked addition to the street lines 
of Cleveland. " Central Highway " was laid out as a 
road into the country, but as it led to the new town of 
Euclid, it became known as Euclid road. The " South 
Highway," or Kinsman street, was also added, as was 
also " North Highway," or St. Clair street. In the fall, 
the surveyors completed their labors, so that the land 
could be intelligently divided among the stockholders of 
the company, and returned home. In January, of the 
year following, the partition was made. It was also dur- 
ing this year that Cleveland, with the rest of the Re- 
serve, became a part of Jefferson County, but no steps of 
visible jurisdiction were taken by the territorial authori- 
ties. In October, 1798, a petition, on behalf of the Con- 
necticut Land Company, was laid before the General As- 
sembly of Connecticut, in which were set forth the 
various failures of all appeals to Congress for action in 
regard to the legal status of New Connecticut, and pray- 
ing for relief. 

Early in 1798, Nathaniel Doan, who had been induced 
to come, perhaps, by the donation of a city lot upon 
which a blacksmith shop was to be maintained, arrived 

is a letter in possession of the Western Reserve Historical Society from 
Alexander Henry to Oliver Phelps and Henry Champion, directors of the 
Connecticut Land Company, dated April 1st, 1797, giving notice to the 
company of the claim of title by Askin and his partners, and stating that 
John Askin and his family " now reside on this tract at the River Cuya- 
hoga, in order to secure possession. ' ' It will be noted, however, that Mr. 
Burton does not claim that this cabin was erected by Askin, using the 
words, ' ' built or occupied. ' ' There stands to-day on Hanover and Ver- 
mont streets ( West Side ), a house that some say is the oldest in Cleve- 
land. Tradition states that it was built by agents of the Northwestern 
Fur Company, at the head of the old river bed, for a trading house, many 
years before the arrival of Moses Cleaveland ; that it was moved from 
place to place, and finally found a resting-place in its present location. It 
was originally covered with hewn timbers, but as it stands to-day ( see 
illustration ) it has a modern planed covering. It is further claimed that 
between 17S3 and 1S00 it was used as a blockhouse. It was once owned 
by Joel Scranton, but was purchased, near 1S44, by Robert Sanderson, who 
moved it to its present location. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 61 

with, his family, and the fire of his forge was soon seen 
arising from a little shop on Superior street, near the cor- 
ner of Bank, and the ring of his anvil was heard as he 
sharpened the tools and shod the horses of the little com- 
munity. 49 Job P. Stiles had left his cabin down near the 
heart of affairs, and moved out near the Kingsbury home 
on the ridge. Elijah Gun went to the same section, 
while Rodolphus Edwards, 50 a new arrival, went further 
north, near that point known later as the intersection of 
Woodland avenue and Woodland Hills avenue. Joseph 
Landon, who had come back from the East, and Stephen 
Gilbert cleared a piece of ground, which they sowed to 
wheat, while a couple of acres given to corn on Water 
street showed the agricultural activity of Lorenzo Carter. 
That scourge of the new western lands, the fever and 
ague, was also present during this year of early settle- 
ment, and had not a little to do with the removals to the 
higher lands to the eastward. At one time nearly every 
member of the settlement became a victim to its power, 
and the burden of providing food and the necessaries of 
life fell upon the few who were equal to it. A mainstay 
in many close places was the redoubtable Carter, whose 
gun and dogs enabled him to obtain wild game when 

49 Statement made by John Doan, "Annals Early Settlers' Association," 
No. 6, p. 51: "In General Cleaveland's party was my uncle, Nathaniel 
Doan, of Middle-Haddam, Middlesex County, Conn. After spending two 
3'ears, 1796 and 1797, in assisting to lay out roads and define county and 
township limits in the howling wilderness of that day Nathaniel Doan de- 
cided to bring his family here and locate a home in the woods. He did so 
in 179S, building a log cabin near the Cuyahoga River, but the next year 
moving further east, on the corner of Fairmount street and Euclid avenue, 
still known as Doan's Corners." 

50 O. P. C. in "Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 4, p. 
47: " Rodolphus Edwards, for short called ' Dolph,' can be numbered 
among the early pioneers of Cuyahoga Count}-, having come here away 
back in 1797. He settled on a large tract of land now known as Woodland 
Hills, but formerly called Butternut Ridge. In addition to farming, he 
kept a public inn or tavern, for the accommodation of the traveling public. 
Rain or snow, hot or cold, as regular as Saturday came around, Uncle 
Dolph, with his old Dobbin, old-time carry-all, and big brindle dog, seated 
bolt upright on the seat by the side of his master, would make his appear- 
ance in town," for the purchase of supplies for the week following. 



62 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



nothing else was to be had ; and it is hardly necessary to 
say that to each of his needing neighbors was sent a gen- 
erous portion. At one time, all the nine members of 
Nathaniel Doan's family were sick at once, which had 
not a little to do with the removal to that point which has 
since borne his name. 

Out on the Ridge, the Kingsburys, Guns and Stileses had 
found immunity from the scourge, and been able to raise 
good crops of corn. The famous " stump mortars " of 
the early day, which had until now been their only means 
of preparing this corn for use, have been described as fol- 
lows: " An oak stump was hollowed out so that it would 
hold about half a bushel of corn. Above it a heavy wood- 
en pestle was suspended to a spring-pole, the large end 
of which was fastened to a neighboring tree. A con- 
venient quantity of corn being poured into the hollow, 
the pestle was seized with both hands and brought down 
upon it. Then the spring-pole drew it up a foot or two 
above the corn, when it was again brought down, and 
thus the work continued until the corn was reduced to a 
quantity of very coarse meal." 

Judge Kingsbury decided to secure a better method of 
preparing the chief staff of family life, and accordingly 
brought from the banks of the run, which still bears his 
name, two large stones, which he rudely shaped into mill- 
stones, one of which he placed upon the ground with the 
other above it, and by fastening a handle to the upper one 
so that it might be rocked forward and backward, was 
able to produce an article of meal far ahead of that made 
in the ruder appliance. 

There was no physician in the little settlement, and no 
quinine, a decoction of dogwood bark being used in its 
stead, as a specific for the ague. As the cold weather ap- 
proached, the chills disappeared, but there was still a 
lack of food. It was near the middle of November when 
four of the men, still weak from the effects of the ague, 
made an attempt to bring a supply of flour from Walnut 
Creek, Pennsylvania. They went by the lake, and some- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 63 

where between Euclid Creek and Chagrin River the boat 
was wrecked, and their mission ended in failure. 

In 1799, Mr. Hawley also left the settlement at the 
mouth of the Cuyahoga and moved to the neighborhood 
to which the others had gone. This left the Carters in 
virtual possession, and as they had now become pretty 
well acclimated, they concluded to remain and take their 
chances. It was in this year that "Wheeler W. Will- 
iams, 51 a new-comer, and Major Wyatt, also a late arrival, 
built at the falls of Mill Creek, later Newburgh, the first 
grist-mill of the neighborhood. This labor was not com- 
pleted until fall, when the pair of mill-stones for grinding 
were furnished by David Bryant and his son Gilman, who 
had been getting out grindstones near Vermillion River. 

The younger Bryant has left us a brief description 52 
of this structure, which marked so important an advance 
in the material interests of the neighboring towns of 
Cleveland and Newburgh: "In the fall (1799), father and 
myself returned to Cleveland, to make a pair of mill- 
stones for Mr. Williams, about five miles east of Cleve- 
land, near the trail to Hudson. The water was conveyed 
to the mill in a dugout trough, to an undershot wheel 
about twelve feet over, with one set of arms, and buckets 
fifteen inches long, to run inside of the trough, which went 
down the bank at an angle of forty-five degrees, perhaps. 
The dam was about four rods above the fall ; the mill- 
stones were three and a half feet in diameter, of gray rock. ' ' 

As this was one of the first mills on the Reserve, its com- 
pletion was naturally celebrated in an appropriate manner. 523 

51 As we shall meet this busy pioneer in several places hereafter, it may be 
well to state that in the early records his name appears in various shapes: 
Wheeler W. Williams, Wm. W. Williams, and William Wheeler Williams. 

52 Letter of Gilman Bryant, under date of Mount Vernon, Ohio, June 1st, 
1857. — " Whittlesey's Early History of Cleveland," p. 372. 

52a Orrin Harmon says that David Abbott built the first grist-mill on the 
Reserve, in the fall of 179S, at Willoughby. Leonard Case stated that a 
mill at the forks of Indian Run, between Youngstown and Canfield, was in 
operation before Williams's mill. This one at Newburgh was, therefore, 
the third mill on the Reserve. 



64 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

All the neighborhood roundabout was asked to be present 
— some ten families in number. Few details of this event 
have been left us, but it was no doubt conducted in ac- 
cordance with the known light-hearted sociability of our 
pioneer fathers. The result of this new venture in the 
mechanical line was, that " during the following winter 
our citizens enjoyed the luxury of bolted flour, made in 
their own mills, from wheat raised by themselves." 

In the above general outline of early events, we have 
carried the story of Cleveland to the edge of 1800. Be- 
fore stepping across the century line, and viewing the en- 
larged horizon of later days, it will be our task and pleas- 
ure to take up a number of detached events that must be 
related to make the record complete, and can best find 
that relation just here. 

A marked event of the last three years of the departing 
century was the fact that warm weather came back un- 
usually early in each returning spring, which shortened 
mercifully the days of cold for which the settlers were not 
always well prepared. ' ' Pinks and other flowers bloomed 
in February each year, and peach trees were in full blos- 
som in March." 

In discussing the question of travel, Mr. Rice says: 53 
* ' The only highways, which existed in the country at this 
time, were narrow paths, designated by blazed trees, and 
a few old Indian trails. The trails were well-beaten 
paths, which had existed from time immemorial, leading 
from one distant point of the country to another. One 
led from Buffalo along the lake shore to Detroit. An- 
other from the Ohio River b y way of the portage, as it 
was called, to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. They 
concentrated at Cleveland, where the river was crossed by 
a ferry established by the Indians. In this way the 
principal trading posts erected by the French and English 
were made accessible, and furnished the early pioneers 
with the facilities of securing an important commercial 
intercourse with those distant points of trade. The goods 

53 Rice's "Pioneers of the Western Reserve," p. 66. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 6j 

and provisions needed were transported on pack-horses. 54 
While Cleveland was the central point on the lake shore, 
Newburgh took the lead in respect to population. Hence 
Cleveland acquired the reputation of being a ' small vil- 
lage six miles from Newburgh.' " 55 

The hardy and able men who conducted the surveys 
already described, or assisted in the same, deserve more 
than the passing mention which has been given hereto- 
fore in connection with a description of their work. Of 
some of these we know little, beyond the fact that they 
were sent out in the employ of the Connecticut Land 
Company and presumably performed their duties to the 
satisfaction of their employers. Judge Amzi Atwater, 
in his sketches of his associates, says of John Milton 
Holley, to whose journal we have been several times in- 
debted: " He was then a very young man, only about 
eighteen years of age, though he appeared to be older; 
tall, stout, and handsomely built, with a fair and smiling 
face, and general good appearance. He was a beautiful 
penman." He did not return with the surveyors of 1797, 
but settled in Salisbury, Conn., where he spent the re- 
mainder of his days, leaving a large and respected family, 
a member of which afterwards became the governor of 
that State. 

54 On February 23rd, 1797, the Connecticut Land Company appointed a 
committee, of which Seth Pease and Moses Warren were members, to 
" enquire into the expediency of laying and cutting out roads on the Re- 
serve." Their report, under date of January 30th, 1798, was to the effect 
that it was ' ' expedient to lay out and cut out, a road from Pennsylvania 
to the city of Cleveland. . . . The road was cut out, and the timber girdled, 
according to the recommendation of the committee. . . . That this was 
the first road that was laid out and cut out on the Western Reserve, there 
is no doubt. This was all done at the expense of the Connecticut Land 
Company." — Western Reserve Historical Society's Tract No. 49, p. 101. 

55 When did this term originate? Who first used it? Perhaps these 
questions may be answered by Joseph Glidden, who says: " I learned 
also, during my first summer in Ohio (1834) the important fact that Cleve- 
land is six miles from Newburgh. I remember taking up a little book at 
the house of a friend in Akron, called a 4 Gazetteer of the State of Ohio. ' I 
distinctly remember that under the head of Cleveland there was this item : 
' A post-town six miles from Newburgh.' " — " Annals Early Settlers' As- 
sociation," No. 6, p. 45. 



66 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Mr. Atwater, himself, left an impress upon his time, and 
was an honored eitizen of this section of Ohio until his 
death in 1851. He was a native of New Haven, Connect- 
icut, and learned the art of surveying in company with 
Wareham Shepard, who was one of the first exploring 
party on the Reserve. Atwater joined the party at 
Canandaigua, his special duty being to collect the cattle 
and pack the horses. He returned the next year as one 
of the assistant surveyors. In 1800, he settled in Mantua, 
Ohio ; served as an associate judge of Portage County, 
and filled other offices of public trust. 

Ezekiel Morly was born in Glastonbury, Conn., in 
1758, and died in Chester, O., in 1852. He served as a 
soldier in the Revolution; was a member of both the 
first and second surveying parties ; emigrated to Ohio in 
1832, and " supposed himself to be the first white man 
that saw Chagrin falls." Lot Sanford was not with the 
party of 1796, but with that of the year following. He 
assisted in digging the grave of the drowned Eldridge, 
" thus performing the office of sexton to the first white 
man who was buried in Cleveland." He did not remain 
in Ohio, but made his permanent home in Vermont, 
where he died in i860. Oliver Culver came out with the 
party of 1797; returned in 1798, and assisted in the work 
of laying out a road to the Pennsylvania line; in 1804, he 
again came to Cleveland with a boat-load of salt, dry 
goods, liquors and tobacco, and opened a store. The 
next year he married, and settled on a farm in Monroe 
County, N. Y. 

Seth Pease, who, perhaps, was the most prominent of 
the surveyors, is described by Mr. Atwater as " above 
medium height, slender and fair, with black, penetrating 
eyes; in his movements very active, and persevering in 
his designs, with a reflecting and thoughtful air. He 
was a very thorough mathematician." His journals, 
in excellent penmanship, show business habits. He was 
in the service of Massachusetts as a surveyor; was en- 
gaged in the laying out of the ' ' Holland Purchase ' ' in 






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THE HISTORY OE CLEVELAND. 6 7 



Western New York ; and tinder Jefferson beeame Assist- 
ant Postmaster General of the United States. 

Augustus Porter spent some ten years in the woods, in 
one place and another, as surveyor and explorer, and then 
settled on the Niagara River, where he spent the re- 
mainder of his life. He lived to an advanced age. He was 
of medium height, full face, and dark complexion. 

Sickness and death were the part of several who en- 
gaged for labor in the wilderness. Judge Atwater, 56 in 
relating the experiences of 1797, says: " I was taken sick 
with the ague and fever. Sickness prevailed the latter 
part of the season to an alarming degree, and but a few es- 
caped entirely. William Andrews, one of our men, and 
Peleg Washburn, an apprentice to Mr. Nathaniel Doan, 
died of dysentery at Cleveland, in August or September. 
All those that died that season were of my party who 
came on with me, with the cattle and horses, in the 
spring, and were much endeared to me, except Tinker, 
our principal boatman, who was drowned on his return in 
the fall. At Cleveland, I was confined for several weeks, 
with several others much in the same situation as my- 
self, with little or no help, except what we could do for 
ourselves. The inhabitants there were not much better 
off than we were, and all our men were required in the 
woods. My fits came on generally every night, and long 
nights they appeared to me ; in day-time I made out to get 
to the spring, and get some water, but it was a hard task 
to get back again. ... I procured a portion of Peruvian 
bark and took it, it broke up my fits and gave me an ex- 
tra appetite, but very fortunately for me we were short 
of provisions, and on short allowance. My strength 
gained, and I did not spoil my appetite by over-eating." 

It was during this summer of 1797 that Mr. Atwater 
passed through a trying experience which may be briefly 
related. He was in the woods with Minor Bicknell, when 
the latter was taken with so violent a fever that he was 
unable to ride a horse. They were at a great distance 

56 " Whittlesey's Early History of Cleveland," p. 300. 



68 THE HISTORY OF CLE VELA ND. 



from help or medical attention, and it seemed imperative 
to get him to Cleveland as soon as possible. Two poles 
were tied together with bark, and a couple of horses 
placed between them, as in the shafts of a wagon. There 
was room for a man to lie in a bed of blankets and bark, 
slung to the poles, with one horse going before him, and 
the other coming behind. In this rude conveyance the 
unfortunate Bicknell was carried for five days, over a dis- 
tance of fifty miles, being in a high fever and delirious 
for a portion of the time. His sufferings ended in death, 
and he was buried on the south line of the township of 
Independence. Well may Judge Atwater add: " This 
was the most affecting scene of my life. My feelings I 
cannot attempt to describe. My fatigue was great during 
the whole distance. My anxiety stimulated every power 
I possessed of body or mind." 

The journal of Surveyor Pease during August, Septem- 
ber and November is an almost 'continuous record of sick- 
ness, and for the greater part of the time headquarters at 
Cleveland took on the character of a general hospital. 
Such entries as these are of almost daily occurrence : 
" Solomon Shepard came in sick." " Reynolds taken 
sick." " Jotham Atwater came in sick with the fever 
and ague." '" Green set out to take his place, but re- 
turned at night sick." " This morning had chills, head- 
ache, backache and fever." " Twelve persons sick." 
" Andrews died about eight o'clock last night." " Mr. 
Pease had a hard fit of fever and ague. " " Tupper is not 
well, but able to cook. 

Malaria was not the only enemy to be avoided in these 
laborious excursions into the woods. Another danger is 
suggested : ' ' In its forest condition this region was very 
prolific in snakes. The notes of the survey contain fre- 
quent mention of them, particularly the great yellow rat- 
tlesnake. In times of drought they seek streams and moist 
places, and were frequently seen with their brilliant black 
and orange spots crossing the lake beach to find water. 
Joshua Stow, the commissary of the survey, had a positive 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVEL.WD. 6g- 



liking for snake meat. Holly eould endure it when pro- 
visions were short. General Cleaveland was disgusted with 
snakes, living or cooked, and with those who cooked them. 
They were more numerous because the Indians had an 
affection or a superstitious reverence for them, and did not 
kill them." 57 

A view of Cleveland as it appeared to the eyes of a 
stranger in 1797 is found in the statement of Oilman 
Bryant, already quoted. " My father, David Bryant, and 
myself," said he, " landed at Cleveland in June, 1797. 
There was but one family there at that time, viz. : Lorenzo- 
Carter, who lived in a log cabin, under the high sand bank, 
near the Cuyahoga River, and about thirty rods below the 
bend of the river, at the west end of Superior street. I 
went up the hill to view the town. I found one log cabin 
erected by the surveyors, on the south side of Superior 
street, near the place where the old Mansion House for- 
merly stood. There was no cleared land, only where the 
logs were cut to erect the cabin, and for fire- wood. I 
saw the stakes at the corners of the lots, among the logs 
and large oak and chestnut trees. We were on our way 
to a grindstone quarry, near Vermillion River. We made 
two trips that summer, and stopped at Mr. Carter's each- 
time. In the fall of 1797, I found Mr. Rodolphus Ed- 
wards in a cabin under the hill, at the west end of Su- 
perior street. We made two trips in the summer of 1798. 
I found Major Spafford in the old surveyor's cabin. The 
same fall Mr. David Clark erected a cabin on the other 
side of the street, and about five rods northwest of Spaf- 
ford's." 

Any excursion into the history of these early days of 
Cleveland is certain to bring one into direct contact, 
sooner or later, with Lorenzo Carter, who played no minor 
part in the fortunes of the settlement, and who possessed 
a personal character well fitted for service in the rude sur- 
roundings of his day. His arrival in Cleveland has 
already been noted. He was born in Warren, Litchfield 

57 " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 4, p. 75. 



7 o 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



County, Conn., in 1766, 58 and although his education 
was meagre, his natural qualities made him a man of 
mark wherever his lot was cast. His half-brother, J. A. 
Ackley, says of his early life: " He was left to the care 
of a widowed mother, in moderate circumstances, with a 
family of six children, all young. Lorenzo was a strong, 
athletic, self-willed boy, and it could not be expected 
that a mother would guide and direct him like a father. 
But our mother was a thorough-going woman, and man- 
aged to get along reasonably well, until the close of the 
war (Revolution), when she married again, and soon 

after moved to Castleton, Rut- 
land County, Vt., then al- 
most a wilderness. Lorenzo 
was about eighteen years of 
age, a very natural age to be- 
come fond of a dog or gun, 
hunting and fishing. The 
country being new, and game 
plenty, he soon became quite 
a Nimrod. Arrived at man- 
hood, he bought a lot of new 
land, took to himself a better 
half, and settled on his land. 
But farming, or at least clearing a new farm, was not ex- 
actly to his mind. He soon became restless, and wished 
for a change. About this time the Ohio fever began to 
rage, and Carter, in company with a man by the name of 
Higby, started for the western wilds. Their course was 
through Western Pennsylvania, to Pittsburg, down the 
Ohio River as far as the Muskingum River. They then 
turned north, and struck the lake at Cleveland, from 
thence by the nearest route home." 

This excursion determined his future. He bade adieu 
to New England, in the fall of 1796, and in company with 




LORENZO CARTER. 



58 This date and piace are given by J. A. Ackley, Carter's half-brother, 
in a statement made at Parma, in 1858. Mr. Rice, in his " Sketches of 
Western Life," p. 29, says, he was born in Rutland, Vermont, in 1767. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



7* 



his brother-in-law, Ezekiel Hawley, set out to find a home 
in the West. When the two families reached Lake Erie, 
they passed across to Canada, where they remained for 
the winter. In the spring of 1797 they moved onward to 
Cleveland, which they reached in May, and where they 
had decided to make their permanent home. 

The active Lorenzo soon made himself a conspicuous 
figure in the pioneer community. While Hawley decided 
to make his home back upon the elevated land, Carter 
preferred to remain in the very center of events — and 
there he hung on, faithful to his first choice, while malaria 
and ague drove his neighbors out to the more healthful 
ridge. He erected, down near the river, a log cabin, which 
was more pretentious than the rude affairs constructed by 
the surveyors, having two apartments on the ground floor, 
and a spacious garret. 59 He next built a boat, and estab- 

59 N. B. Dare, of Cleveland, has recently found among some old papers 
in his possession a land contract between Lorenzo Carter and the Rev. 
Seth Hart, Moses Cleaveland's successor as agent, or superintendent, of 
the Connecticut Land Company. The lot contracted for was described as 
follows: — " Lot No. 199, containing one acre and forty -four rods of land, as 
per the surveyor's full notes, abutting east on Water street, west on the 
Cuyahoga River, and intersected by Mandrake lane." The conditions of 
sale were as follows : — ' ' Said Carter having already built a tenable log house 
on said lot and cleared and improved part thereof, is to clear the remaining 
part of said lot in the course of the next spring and summer, and sow the 
same to wheat or cultivate it to some other purpose, and have a family 
residing in said house ; and he, the said Carter, is to pay at the rate of $25 
per acre, making for said lot the full sum of $47. 50, which said Carter is 
to pay by the 1st of September, 1798, unto Oliver Phelps, Henry Cham- 
pion, Moses Cleaveland, Samuel Mather, Esq., the board of directors for 
said company, or their successors in office, or to their agent in the said city 
of Cleveland, with one year's interest on the same at the rate of 6 per cent, 
per annum. Now, if the said Carter shall fulfil and perform the foregoing 
conditions, etc., then the said Hart, on behalf of himself, empowered as 
aforesaid, and in behalf of said board of directors, promises and engages 
to procure a good and authentic deed. 

(Signed) " LORENZO CARTER. 
" SETH HART. 
(Witnesses. ) 

" Theodore Shepherd, 

' ' Amzi Atwater. ' ' 

The contract was endorsed " S. Hart's contract with Lorenzo Carter, 
1797." 



7 2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



lished a ferry at the foot of Superior street. He kept a 
small stock of goods for trade with the Indians. In 1801 
he was granted a license to keep a tavern at Cleveland, by 
the territorial court sitting in Warren. " It was Carter's 
enterprise," says Mr. Rice, " that built the first frame 
house in Cleveland. He also built the first warehouse. 
During the early part of his career at Cleveland his spa- 
cious log cabin on the hillside was regarded as headquar- 
ters. It served as a hotel for strangers, and as a variety 
shop of hunting supplies. It was also a place of popular 
resort, where the denizens of the town and surrounding 
country held their social festivities." It was in Carter's 
cabin that occurred the first wedding ceremony solem- 
nized in Cleveland, when, on July 4th, 1797, Miss Chloe 
Inches, who was in Carter's employ, was married to a 
Canadian, who answered to the name of Clement. The 
ceremony was performed by the Rev. Seth Hart, General 
Cleaveland's successor as superintendent of the Connecti- 
cut Land Company. 

In 1804, Carter was elected to the office of Major in the 
State militia. He built the first vessel constructed in 
Cleveland, the ' k Zephyr," of thirty tons burden, for the 
lake trade. He accumulated a fine property, and in later 
years purchased and improved a farm on the west bank of 
the Cuyahoga, nearly opposite the lower end of Superior 
street. He died in February, 18 14, and was buried in 
the Erie street cemetery, near the western entrance. 
" Two marble headstones mark the spot, and also bear 
upon their face a brief record that is worthy of a reverent 
remembrance." 

Carter is described as having had the muscular power 
of a giant, standing six feet in his boots, of swarthy com- 
plexion, with hair long and black, which he allowed to 
fall nearly to his shoulders. He was brave to the edge of 
daring, but amiable in temper and spirit; and while he 
never picked a quarrel, he saw the end of any upon which 
he entered. He was always to be found upon the side of 
the oppressed. " Major Carter was far from a quarrel- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 73 



some man," wrote Ashbel W. Walworth, in 1842.°° " I 
never heard of his fighting unless he was grossly in- 
sulted, and as he would say, ' driven to it.' It was a 
common saying in this region, that Major Carter was all 
the law Cleveland had, and I think he often gave out well 
measured justice. It was not unfrequent that strangers 
traveling through the place, who had heard of the Major's 
success in whipping his man, who believed themselves 
smart fighters, thought they may gain laurels by having 
it said that they whipped him. I never heard it asserted 
by any one, and never heard of any one boasting, that 
such an act had been performed. He was kind and generous 
to the poor and unfortunate, hospitable to the stranger, 
would put himself to great inconvenience to oblige a neigh- 
bor, and was always at the service of an individual or the 
public when a wrong had been perpetrated. In all the 
domestic relations he was kind and affectionate." 

There are a great many stories found in the various rec- 
ords of early Cleveland of Major Carter's dealings with both 
Whites and Indians, illustrative of his courage and off-hand 
methods of disposing of practical questions as they present- 
ed themselves. Of these anecdotes, half-brother Ackley 
tersely says: " Some are true, and many are not true." 
In touching upon these, one cannot undertake to say with 
certainty in which class they fall, although most of them 
are in accord with the known character of the man. 

It is said, that on one occasion he returned from the 
hunt, and found that a party of thirsty Indians had broken 
into his store-house, removed the head from a whisky 
barrel, and were freely helping themselves to its contents. 
He found them engaged in an endeavor to empty the bar- 
rel, ' ' marched in among them, drove them out, kicked and 
cuffed them about in every direction, and rolled several 
of them, who were too drunk to keep their legs, into the 
marshy brink of the river. The Indians did not relish 
this kind of treatment, and, meditating revenge, held a 
council the next day, and decided to exterminate Carter. 

60 " Whittlesey's Early History of Cleveland," p. 346. 



74 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

They selected two of their best marksmen, and directed 
them to follow his footprints the next time he entered 
the woodlands to hunt, and shoot him at the first favor- 
able opportunity. This the delegated assassins attempted 
to do, and, thinking to make sure work of it, both fired at 
him at the same time, but failed to hit him. In an in- 
stant Carter turned on his heel and shot one of them, who 
fell dead in his tracks ; the other uttered a terrific war 
whoop, and fled out of sight. This dire result overawed 
the Indians. From that time no further attempts were 
made to take Carter's life. His rifle was the law of the 
land. The Indians became subservient to his will, and 
were confirmed in the belief that he was the favorite of 
the Great Spirit, and could not be killed. It was in this 
way that Carter obtained an unbounded influence over 
the Indians. He always treated them, when they behaved 
as they should, with kindness and generosity, and when 
they quarrelled among themselves, as they often did, he 
intervened and settled their difficulties." 61 

An incident, that finds a more certain foundation in 
fact, shows Carter's influence with his dusky neighbors, 
and is connected with the first murder that occurred after 
the settlement of Cleveland. It is not certain whether 
it occurred in 1802 or 1803. A medicine man, of 
either the Chippewa or Ottawa tribe, by name Nobsy, 
Menobsy, or more commonly called 2Lcnompsy, had 
rendered official aid to the wife of Big Son, a near 
relative to the famous Seneca, of the tribe of Senecas. 
She had died despite his ministrations, and under the in- 
fluence of the fire-water obtained from the distillery 
which David Bryant had established under the hill, Big 
Son set forth the claim that his wife had been killed, and 
therefore, under the Indian law, he demanded the life of 
the medicine man. The latter claimed that he bore a 
charmed life and could not be hurt, which Big Son proved 

61 Rice's " Sketches of Western Life," p. 34. This story is referred to 
by the writer as traditional. No reference is made to it by Mr. Ackley 
or Mr. Walworth, already quoted, nor in a statement made by Carter's 
son, Alonzo. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 7S 

to be untrue, by stabbing his enemy as the two walked 
side by side along Union Lane. 

His friends took up the body of the murdered man, and 
carried it to their camp on the west side of the river. 
They were furious for revenge, and only the prompt action 
of Major Carter and other white men prevented a bloody 
encounter. The Chippewa warriors were seen in the 
morning with their faces painted black, which meant war. 
The demand was made that Big Son should be surren- 
dered. Carter opened negotiations, and for a gallon or so 
of whisky, backed by his eloquence, persuaded them to 
abate the demand, go home, and drown their vengeance 
in that for which it had been surrendered. 

It is pleasant to turn from this scene of blood to an 
incident that occurred on the last Christmas of the cen- 
tury, when Lorenzo Carter, the hunter, saved the lives of 
several lost little ones. Three children of Judge Kingsbury, 
and two of the Hawleys, the eldest but eight years of age, 
lost their way in the dusk of the evening when homeward 
bound from a visit to Job Stiles. They wandered about, 
in the cold and dark, in danger from wild beasts. The 
eldest carried the youngest; at last they all gave up, 
and sat down upon the frozen ground to await whatever 
fate the winter night might have in store for them. 

It happened that toward evening, Carter, the uncle of the 
Hawley children, called at the house of their parents, on his 
way from the hunt. An alarm had already been given, and 
the few men of the neighborhood had started out in search. 
The Major of course joined them. He took his hound to 
where the children had been last seen. The trail was found,, 
although the little ones had crossed their own tracks again, 
and again. After a long run through bush and brier, the 
faithful animal dashed down into a hollow, and among the 
frightened children, who thought that at last the .wolves 
were upon them. We can rest assured that, among all his 
triumphs in forest and field, Lorenzo Carter counted the 
privilege of returning those children to the arms of their 
parents that Christmas night, by no means the least. 



CHAPTER IV. 

A CITY ON PAPER. 

It may be profitable to leave for a moment the little 
village on the Cuyahoga, here at the dawn of 1800, to 
touch upon the manner of life of those who came into the 
Ohio wilderness, the perils surrounding them, and the 
resolution with which they met want, sickness, the de- 
predations of wild beasts, and the lack of those surround- 
ings of civilization to which they were used in the old life 
in the East. It took courage of several sorts to make the 
westward venture, 02 and the journey from the East was 
in itself no light experience. 

Not only were the railroad and canal unthought of 
then, but the stage-coach and the road along which it was 
to be drawn were still in the future. The springless 
wagon or the sled, loaded with household goods, farming 
implements, weapons of defense, and food, with wife and 
children stowed in corners, were the chief vehicles of 
transportation, and the road a mere path through the 
woods, or a trail, along which room for passage must be 
cut through the trees. Months were often consumed in 
this tiresome journey, and its discomforts uncomplainingly 
borne. Incidents without number, in illustration of the 
above, are held as household legends in all parts of the 

62 ' ' Immigration to Ohio, at an early day, at times met with the greatest 
discouragement. Caricature was employed to give vent to the derision 
which was felt. Judge Timothy Walker, in an address delivered before 
the Ohio Historical and Philosophical Society, at Cincinnati, in 1837, said 
he well remembered in his boyhood seeing two pictures — one represent- 
ing a stout, well-dressed, ruddy man on a fat, sleek horse, westward 
bound, bearing a banner with the words : ' Going to Ohio ' ; the other 
showing a pale and ghostly skeleton of a man, in shabby apparel, riding 
the wreck of a horse, journeying eastward, bearing the ensign: ' Have 
been to Ohio.' " — Magazine of Western History, Vol. I., p. 343. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 77 

Reserve ; and some of the pioneers who were spared for 
more prosperous days, have told us touching tales of the 
sufferings they, as children, regarded as matters of 
course — like the rains and snows and chills of winter. 

Among the first to settle in these northeastern Ohio 
forests was Amos Loveland, who had been a soldier in 
the Revolution, and was engaged in surveying on the 
Reserve as early as 1798. He selected a piece of land in 
what is now a corner of Trumbull County, and decided 
to locate upon it. He returned to Vermont in the fall of 
the year, and in December started westward with his 
family of seven, and all his worldly goods packed on 
two sleds, each of which was drawn by a team of horses. 
They traveled days, and encamped at night when better 
accommodations did not offer. They crossed the Susque- 
hanna River on the ice, and when the snow disappeared 
soon after, the sleds were traded for a wagon for the rest 
of the journey, which occupied altogether four months. 
It was April before he arrived at the piece of woodland 
he expected to transform into a farm. Jacob Russell 
came from Connecticut to Cleveland with an ox-team, his 
wife riding their only horse. Leaving her here, he re- 
turned for their children, and one of these, in recently 
relating their adventures, said: " Our journey was at- 
tended with the greatest suffering. My youngest sister 
was sick all the way, dying three days after her arrival. 
Father was then taken down with ague, so our house 
was built slowly. With the greatest difficulty mother 
hewed with an adze the stub ends of the floor boards, and 
put them down with the little help father could give her. 
We moved in, toward the close of November, our house 
possessing neither door nor window. At that time, two of 
the children were sick with ague. Father worked when 
the chills and fever left him for the day, putting poles 
together in the form of bedsteads and a table." 

The Morgan family came in a covered wagon, drawn by 
a yoke of oxen and a span of horses. A girl eight years 
of age rode one of the horses, and guided the lead-team 



7 8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the greater part of the way between Albany and Cleve- 
land. The road was simply a trail through the woods, 
the underbrush between the trees having been cut away 
sufficiently to allow a wagon to pass. Three months 
were consumed in this journey, including a two weeks' 
stop because of sickness. 

Other families came in two- wheeled carts, some in 
small wagons to which but one horse was attached, while 
occasionally the horse, without the vehicle, would be the 
style of transportation employed. Streams had to be 
crossed by any means that could be improvised, dangers 
guarded against, and much suffering endured. It was 
not unusual for a team to give out, and a week or even a 
fortnight be allowed for recuperation. 

When the rough journey from the east was completed, 
the next thought was for providing a shelter. The log- 
house, for so many years the only structure seen or at- 
tempted in pioneer settlements, has often been described. 

In one recorded instance, the family dwelling contained 
one room eighteen feet square, with greased paper for 
windows, a door of split boards with strips across, and 
wooden hinges — not a nail in the whole building; a 
puncheon, or split-log floor covered about one-half the 
ground included in the four walls, no upper floor, and no 
chimney, except a stone wall built up five feet to keep the 
fire from the logs. The protection against intrusion from 
the outside world in one cabin is thus graphically pict- 
ured by the pen of one of its inmates : ' ' We hung up a 
quilt, and that, with a big bull-dog, constituted the door. ' ' 
When the four walls of the home were up, the settler 
proceeded to "chink" the openings between the logs, 
using pieces of wood on the inside, and plastering them 
with mortar on the outside. During the leisure of the even- 
ings, the inner sides of the logs would be hewed smooth, 
and the bark removed from the joists above. Sometimes 
there was an upper loft, and even stairs leading to it, but 
usually a ladder was the means of communication. In 
rare cases a sleeping-room would be partitioned off on the 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 79 

ground floor, but generally the bed stood at one end of 
the sole room, concealed behind chintz curtains, which 
would often disappear as the question of clothing became 
more and more pressing. The bedstead was made of 
smooth, round poles, while elm bark served as cords. 
Seats, tables and shelves were made as time would allow, 
and according to the skill of the occupants ; occasionally 
some of these articles had been saved from the breaking 
up of the old home in the east. 

The domestic economy within this family temple was 
of the most primitive character. A Dutch oven, a couple 
of kettles and a spider were considered essentials, al- 
though many an outfit fell far short even of this idyl of 
completeness. Judge Robert F. Paine, of Cleveland, 
once used these words in describing the home accommo- 
dations of his boyhood in Portage County : ' ' We possessed 
few dishes of any kind. There was a man in Trumbull 
County who made them of wood, and his advent into a 
neighborhood would cause more excitement than the es- 
tablishment of another national bank in Cleveland to-day. 
We ate on what we called trenchers, a wooden affair in 
shape something like a plate. Our neighbors were in the 
same condition as we, using wooden plates, wooden 
bowls, wooden everything, and it was years before we 
could secure dishes harder than wood, and when we did 
they were made of yellow clay. ' ' 

Theodore Wolcott and Gad Hart spent the winter of 
1806 in Farmington township. Desiring straw with 
which to fill their beds, they marched to Mesopotamia, 
five miles away, and as the woods were so dense that their 
bundles could not be carried through, they were compelled 
to travel out of their way a long distance, going along the 
Warren path to Grand River, and then coming back on the 
open highway afforded by the ice. The first bed on which 
Heman Ely, the founder of Elyria, slept, on his arrival in 
this section, was made of the cloth covering of the wagon 
in which he came, and filled with straw brought, with the 
greatest difficulty, from a barn located miles away. 



8o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

The question of food was naturally one of great mo- 
ment, and much could be written of the privations ex- 
perienced in that direction. The skill, with which the 
pioneer mother made the means at her command fill the 
place of those to which she had been accustomed, was re- 
markable. " The first mince-pie I ever ate on the Re- 
serve," once said Joshua R. Giddings, " was composed 
of pumpkin instead of apple, vinegar in place of wine or 
cider, and bear's meat instead of beef. The whole was 
sweetened with wild honey instead of sugar, and seasoned 
with domestic pepper pulverized instead of cloves, cinna- 
mon and allspice, and never did I taste pastry with a bet- 
ter relish." 

While such makeshifts were possible in some directions, 
there was one in which they were not. 

Salt they had to have, at any price, or any cost of dar- 
ing or toil. There was a salt spring nine miles west of 
Youngstown, where people would repair from all parts 
of the Reserve and manufacture their own article, carry- 
ing a kettle with them, or trusting to good-fortune for the 
obtaining of such an article at the spring. The Old 
Salt Road, as it is yet called, that leads from the mouth 
of Conneaut Creek at Lake Erie into Trumbull County, 
was so named because the demand for this staple article 
was one of the causes of its being laid out. The salt 
from the manufactories of Onondaga, N. Y., was brought 
to Buffalo by the lake, and then transported onward by 
ox-team. By the time it reached Trumbull County it cost 
twenty dollars a barrel. It was also brought from Pitts- 
burg on pack-horses, at great trouble and expense. 

Sugar was costly, and had to be used sparingly, but the 
maple variety could be made easily and cheaply, and there 
was little privation in that line. Corn-bread was the 
staple article of diet, and one pioneer, who has traveled 
in many lands, and partaken of great varieties of fare, has 
been heard to lament, " Would that it still were." The 
meal dough was spread on a clean board, kept especially 
for that purpose, and then placed before a roaring fire, 




^ .2 



S o 



x > 
-n ° 
5 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. Si 

and one of the younger members of the family detailed 
to watch it. When the side next the flame was well 
baked, it would be turned around, and careful tending 
soon finished the process. When beautifully browned 
and smoking hot, it was placed on the table, in company 
with a bowl of milk and a wooden spoon. In contemplat- 
ing this picture, a hungry man can somewhat understand 
the mournful outburst quoted above. 

The grinding of the grain was a matter of no small 
difficulty and labor. A hollow in an oak stump, and a 
rude stone pestle dependent from a spring-pole, was 
the simplest machine employed. Then came the rude 
hand-mills that most of the settlers used prior to 1800, 
which took two hours of steady grinding to supply one 
person with food enough for the day. In a sketch of the 
Doan family, it is recorded that for two or three months 
all their food was supplied by the young son, John, who 
had two attacks of fever and ague daily. He walked 
to the house of a neighbor five miles distant, with a peck 
of corn, ground it in a hand-mill, and then carried it 
home. He adjusted his labors and his shakings to a sys- 
tem. In the morning, on the ending of his first attack, 
he would start on his journey, grind his grist, wait until 
his second spell was over, and then set out on his return. 
One of the children of that day, while recently relating 
her experiences, drew this touching picture: " The only 
flour we could get had become musty, and could not be 
eaten unless one were driven by extreme hunger. I was 
eight years old, and not sick, and was therefore compelled 
to satisfy my hunger with it, and give to those of the 
family who were suffering a better chance at the corn- 
meal rations. The bread made from this flour was hard 
as well as unpalatable. I could only eat it by crumbling 
it into pellets and swallowing them whole. I often won- 
dered why father cried as he sat down at the table and 
looked at the food, as the johnny-cake and mush looked 
so attractive to my hungry eyes." 

The venerable John Doan once said: ' In those days 



82 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 

we ground corn in little hand-mills. There were two 
stones about two and a half feet in diameter, one above 
the other, the upper one being turned with a pole. The 
corn was poured in through a hole in the upper stone. 
When a larger quantity of meal than could be ground in 
one of these mills was wanted, I was sent to Willoughby, 
ten miles away, to mill. I began when eight years old. 
Three bushels of corn and myself would be placed aboard 
a horse, and I would start early in the morning and get 
back late at night." In 1799, Joel Thorp's family found 
themselves out of provisions, and he started to a point in 
Pennsylvania twenty miles distant, to replenish his stock. 
While he was absent, his wife and three small children 
were reduced to a condition of dire necessity. They fed 
on such roots as they could find. The eldest son remem- 
bered to have seen some kernels of corn in a crack in one 
of the logs of their cabin, and passed several hours in an 
unsuccessful search for them. The mother emptied the 
straw of her bed on the ground and picked it over to ob- 
tain what wheat she could, and that little handful she 
boiled and gave to the children. She had been taught to 
handle the gun, and when she saw a wild turkey provi- 
dentially approach her cabin door, she took down her hus- 
band's rifle, and discovered there was but one charge in 
the house. With her heart beating high in the excitement 
of hope and fear, she crept near the fowl and luckily 
killed it, thus providing means to keep her little ones 
alive until their father's return. 

In 1797, the first settlers of Canfield, Mahoning County, 
brought all their provisions and other necessities from 
Pittsburg, being guided on their way solely by marked 
trees. When William Sager, a pioneer of Bristol, Trum- 
bull County, desired to purchase some wheat, which 
could not be had at home, he rode to Mesopotamia to ob- 
tain two bushels, and consumed a whole day in doing so. 
On the next morning he started for the nearest mill, at 
Warren, and spent the day in getting there. His grist 
was ground in the evening, and the next day occupied in 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 83 



the return home. Ichabod Terrell tells of purchasing- 
salt in Cleveland at forty dollars a barrel, and hauling it 
to Elyria at the rate of three miles per day, cutting a road 
through the woods a large portion of the way. In i8o7 r 
one family was compelled to subsist for three days upon 
boiled beech leaves, while the father was away after food. 
" On the fourth day," relates one of the sons, " my 
brother, twelve years of age, came hurrying in and cried, 
1 Give me the gun! I believe I can shoot a deer!' From 
its high place on the wall, mother handed it to the eager 
boy. She bade us hush and listen. Soon came the re- 
port, and the boy's shout of joy told us of his success. 
Then mother and children ran out to see. There was 
the quivering, prostrate form of the deer." At one time, 
the few families living in Harpersfield were so reduced 
that but six kernels of parched corn were allowed daily 
to each person, and life was only saved through the 
heroic efforts of two young men, who tramped through 
deep snow and over frozen rivers, to Elk Creek, Pennsyl- 
vania, where they obtained two sacks of corn, which they 
carried home on their backs, making several like journeys 
during the winter. The grain grown was at the expense 
of much trouble and care. The spot of woods once chosen 
for a cornfield, the large trees would be girdled and left 
standing, while the smaller ones were cut down and 
burned. Holes were then made in the ground by means 
of a hoe or pickaxe, and into each of these a few kernels 
of corn were dropped ; no cultivating or hoeing followed, 
except to cut down the largest weeds. Where buckwheat 
was sown, the boys of the family, in many cases, were 
compelled to watch it all day long, to keep the wild tur- 
keys from destroying it. 

The next gradation in the scale of necessity was that of 
clothing. The Eastern cotton and woolen fabrics were 
too expensive, and beyond the reach of the pioneers, who 
had little money, and practically no market for their pro- 
duce. Home ingenuity was called into play, and flax and 
buckskin were the bases upon which it built. Flax was 



84 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

early introduced, and the loom set up. Sometimes the 
fiber of the nettle was gathered, and on being spun could 
be woven into garments that might be worn with comfort 
until after they had been washed, when they would rasp 
any portion of the body with which they came in contact. 
To remedy this annoyance, the boys would often roll 
their clothing into a ball, when unseen, and laying it 
upon a stump, pound it back to the desired softness. " A 
buckskin suit over a flax shirt, was considered full dress, ' ' 
declares one of the pioneer authorities. When the coat 
of hide became hard and stubborn from long usage, it 
was washed, scraped and pounded to the requisite pliabil- 
ity. A small patch of land would be planted with flax, 
and at the proper time the crop would be pulled, dried, 
bleached and hackled. It was then beaten into shape for 
the spinning wheel. Raw cotton was imported and ex- 
changed for flax or wool. This had to be hand-picked 
and carded, and then, like the flax, given to the women 
of the household for spinning. Many of the settlers had 
a few sheep, whose wool was treated in a manner similar 
to the cotton. Summer clothing was made of cotton 
mixed with flax, while in winter wool was used in the 
filling. Leather was expensive and difficult to obtain; 
therefore the men went barefoot when they could, while 
the women carried their shoes to church, sitting down on 
a log near the meeting-house to slip them on. 

With all these hardships, and the lack of so much that 
in these later days are regarded as essentials, there never 
was a people, even in the most polished age the world has 
witnessed, whose hearthstone so well illustrated the right 
meaning of hospitality. Wherever the wanderer through 
the forest found a cabin, there he found a home. When 
white man met white man, each hailed the other as 
friend, and made good his profession in his deeds. The 
latch-string on the heavy wooden door was out in literal 
truth, and he who touched it and came in was welcome to 
all the humble cabin could command. Settlements a score 
of miles apart drew close to each other in a union of fra- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 8j 

ternity. And the story of mother or babe sacrificed to 
the brutal wrath of the red foe, would cause a hundred 
resolute men to spring forth with sturdy purpose to follow 
to the death, and die themselves if necessary, in defence of 
their homes and loved ones. The forests, yet standing, 
could whisper the names of brave men, in homespun and 
buckskin, who beneath their branches gave up life as 
grandly as did their fathers on the fields of the Revolution, 
and many dark legends are yet told us by men and women 
who received them from the lips of those who had part 
therein, or on whom a portion of their shadow fell. 

There was a moral force behind these New Englanders 
who came into the wilderness to subdue it, and make it 
the habitation of civilized man. " The civilization of 
the Western Reserve," says Harvey Rice, 63 " though 
comparatively of modern origin, is characterized by 
peculiarities that have been inherited from a renowned 
ancestry. It is a civilization scarcely less peculiar in its' 
elements than it is progressive in its instincts. It aims 
high, and has already achieved high aims. It began its 
career a little less than a century ago by conquering the 
rude forces of nature, and securing for itself a land of 
beauty, of wealth and of social refinement. The spirit 
of enterprise that transformed within so brief a period an 
unbroken wilderness into a land of refined civilization, 
must have been not only invincible, but a spirit that has 
rarely, if ever, been excelled in the annals of human ad- 
vancement. This can only be accounted for on the basis 
of inherited traits of character. The civilized life of the 
Western Reserve has Puritanic blood in its veins, or, in 
other words, has a Xew England parentage. One age 
not only modifies another, but differs from another in its 
thought and in its aspirations as one star differs from an- 
other in its brilliancy and in its magnitude." 

The Hon. Henry C. White touches even a little more 
closely upon this thought of the Western Puritan: " The 

63 "Footprints of Puritanism," by Harvey Rice, Magazine of Western 
History, Vol. II., p. 88. 



36 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Connecticut Western Reserve is the last home of colo- 
nized Puritanism. In individuals and families it has been 
carried into the Mississippi Valley, and beyond it, up the 
slopes of the Rockies, and down the western slopes, but 
in no other locality of the West does its organizing quality 
appear, in no other place has its social flavor so perme- 
ated, as here upon this Western Reserve. It was actually 
colonized here. The settlement of North-Eastern Ohio 
at the beginning of this century was unprecedented. It 
was not the straggling immigration of a few families ; it 
was the veritable exodus of a colony. The grand elements 
of Puritan civilization are Land, Law, Liberty. These 
fundamental interests, as they found lodgment in the set- 
tlement, and development in the growth of the Western 
Reserve, are worthy of our consideration. • • • The 
little company which landed at the mouth of the Cuya- 
hoga on the afternoon of July 22nd, 1796, was a band of 
New England surveyors. They brought with them from 
the far-off Saxon forests, through a long line of Puritan 
colonists, the idea of the ' arable mark, ' and the ' village 
•community.' " 64 

Hon. F. J. Dickman 65 : "It is not our office, in the 
light of historic truth, to exalt to the stature of heroes all 
who carried the compass or chain, or plied the settler's 
axe in the forests of New Connecticut. But during the 
first sixteen or seventeen years following the 22nd of 
July, 1 796, when the surveying party entered the mouth 
of the Cuyahoga from the lake, there came to the West- 
ern Reserve, and settled within the present limits of our 
county, a class of men whose characteristics we may well 
admire and commemorate . They did not leave their homes 
because they were there the victims of intolerance, and 
could not there follow the dictates of a tender and en- 
lightened conscience. They came here to improve their 

64 ■" The Western Puritan, " by Henry C. White, Magazine of Western 
History, Vol. II., p. 619. 

65 " Life and Character of Deceased Pioneers," by F. J. Dickman, 
" Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 1, p. 26. 






THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 87 



material condition — to better their worldly fortunes. 
Like the rest of us, they had an eye to the main chance 
in life ; but they richly earned and paid a hundred-fold, 
for all they received." 

James A. Garfield 66 : " The pioneers who first broke 
ground here accomplished a work unlike that which will 
fall to the lot of any succeeding generation. The hard- 
ships they endured, the obstacles they encountered, the 
life they led, the peculiar qualities they needed in their 
undertakings, and the traits of character developed by 
their work, stand alone in our history. • • ■ The 
materials for a history of this Reserve are rich and abun- 
dant. Its pioneers were not ignorant and thoughtless ad- 
venturers, but men of established character, whose opin- 
ions on civil and religious liberty had grown with their 
growth, and become the settled convictions of their ma- 
turer years. • • • These pioneers knew well that 
the three great forces which constitute the strength and 
glory of a free government, are the Family, the School 
and the Church. These three they planted here, and 
they nourished and cherished them with an energy and 
devotion scarcely equaled in any other quarter of the 
world. On this height were planted in the wilderness 
the symbols of this trinity of powers ; and here let us 
hope may be maintained forever the ancient faith of our 
fathers in the sanctity of the Home, the intelligence of 
the School, and the faithfulness of the Church." 

In lighter vein, but with the same elements of philo- 
sophic truth as their foundation, are these reflections of 
Hon. Robert F. Paine, 67 with which this series of quota- 
tions from men competent to speak may well be closed: 
" I suppose that God had such confidence in the self-re- 

66 Address delivered by Hon. James A. Garfield before the Historical 
Society of Geauga County, at Burton, Ohio, on Sept. 16th, 1873, on the 
" Discovery and Ownership of the Northwestern Territory, and Settlement 
of the Western Reserve." Western Reserve Historical Society, Tract 
No. 20, p. n. 

67 Annual Address, by Hon. R. F. Paine, "Annals of the Early 
Settlers' Association," No. 4, p. 18. 



88 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

liant power of our Western Reserve emigrants that he saw 
no necessity of giving them title to their land, or furnish- 
ing them quail or manna to eat while they were prepar- 
ing it for crops. But the emigrants were adequate to the 
occasion. They generally, by the exchange of their prop- 
erty in New England, secured evidence of title to a small 
portion of the wilderness on the Reserve ; by marshaling 
the balance of their assets they generally possessed them- 
selves of a span of horses, or yoke of oxen and wagon, 
loaded in the wife and children, and such household goods 
as room could be found for in the wagon, and thus 
equipped the devoted husband and wife bade farewell to 
all the associations, and scenes of childhood and youth. 
They had but little more idea of what awaited them than 
Paul had when he went bound to Jerusalem. Sometimes 
a New England young man had concluded the delightful 
business of courting a wife, and found himself without 
well-settled plans for the future, and but little to support 
a wife and rear a family ; consultation with her he loved 
would result in an agreement to postpone the marriage, 
and that the lover should go to New Connecticut, and if 
he thought best, secure a piece of land, and if possible 
clear off a patch and sow it to wheat, and returning, make 
title to his wife, and with her visit his little farm on the 
Reserve, and enter upon the real substantial business of 
life. The early settlers, men and women, were honest, 
industrious and generous to a fault. The men felled 
and cleared off the towering and thickly-studded forest. 
The women came up fully to Solomon's description of a 
good wife, ' She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her 
hands hold the distaff, ' and none went hungry from her 
door, if there was anything within to eat." 

With thus an adequate understanding of the methods 
of life in pioneer days, and of the character of those who 
laid the foundations of Ohio, we can once more take up 
the thread of direct narration, with the beginning of the 
new century. 

There were, in the opening of 1800, perhaps, some 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 8g 

twenty people residing in that portion of the Reserve, 
marked out as the city of Cleveland, including the families 
of Carter and Spafford, while some sixty or seventy made 
up the population of the immediate neighborhood. Affairs 
were not progressing, in a material sense with that success- 
ful push which the managers of the Connecticut Land 
Company had probably looked for. A visit was made in 
midsummer by Turhand Kirtland, 68 who seems to have 
come with authority, and who expresses his views upon the 
situation in a letter to the east. He addresses General 
Cleaveland at Canterbury, Connecticut, from " Cleave- 
land, Ohio," under date of July 17th. 1800,, and says : 

" On my arrival at this place, I found Major Spafford, 
Mr. Lorenzo Carter, and Mr. David Clark, who are the 
only inhabitants residing in the city, have been anxiously 
waiting with expectations of purchasing a number of 
lots, but when I produced my instructions, they were 
greatly disappointed, both as to price and terms. They 
assured me, that they had encouragement last year, from 
Col. Thomas Sheldon, that they would have lands at ten 
dollars per acre, and from Major Austin at twelve dollars 
at most; which they think would be a generous price, for 
such a quantity as they wish to purchase. You will 
please excuse me from giving my opinion, but it really 
seems to me a good policy to sell the city lots at a less 
price than twenty-five dollars (two acres ), or I shall never 
expect to see it settled. 

" Mr. Carter was an early adventurer, has been of essen- 
tial advantage to the inhabitants here, in helping them to 
provisions in times of danger and scarcity, has never ex- 
perienced any gratuity from the company, but complains 
of being hardly dealt by, in sundry instances. He has 
money to pay for about thirty acres, which he expected 
to have taken, if the price had met his expectation; but 

68 Statement made by Dr. J. P. Kirtland, Aug. 29th, 1S74: "Turhand 
Kirtland, my father, annually visited New Connecticut in the years 1795, 
1799, and 1800. He, at that time, was agent of the Connecticut Land Com- 
pany." — " Historical Collections of the Mahoning Valley ," published by 
the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Youngstown, Ohio, 1S76, p. 10. 



go THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

he now declares that he will leave the purchase, and never 
own an acre in New Connecticut. Major Spafford has 
stated his wishes to the company, in his letter of January 
last, and I am not authorized to add anything. He says 
he has no idea of giving the present price, for sixteen or 
eighteen lots. He contemplated building a house, and 
making large improvements this season, which he thinks 
would indemnify the company fully, in case he should 
fail to fulfill his contract ; and he is determined to remove 
to some other part of the purchase immediately, unless 
he can obtain better terms than I am authorized to give. 
Mr. Clark is to be included in the same contract, with 
Major Spafford, but his circumstances will not admit of 
his making any advances. I have requested the settlers 
not to leave the place, until I can obtain further informa- 
tion from the board, and request you to consult General 
Champion, 69 to whom I have written, and favor me with 
despatches by first mail. • • • Mr. Edwards has 
gone to see the governor. Crops extraordinary good, and 
settlers healthy and in good spirits. They are increasing 
as fast as can be expected, but the universal scarcity of 
cash, in this back part of the country, renders it ex- 
tremely difficult to sell for money, and the vast quantity 
of land in market will prevent a speedy sale of our lands. 
The people have been encouraged that the Company 
would have a store erected, and receive provisions in pay- 
ment for lands, for money is not to be had. Mr. Tillit- 
son, from Lyme, wants two one-hundred acre lots, and 
would pay for one in hand if horses, cattle or provisions 
would answer, or would take them on credit, if he could 
have sufficient time to turn his property, but has no cash 
to advance. 

' ' I have given a sketch of these circumstances, in order 
that you may understand my embarrassments, and expect 
you will give me particular directions how to proceed, 
and also, whether I shall make new contracts with the 

69 The name of Henry Champion is found in the list of directors of the 
Connecticut Land Company. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 9 i 

settlers, whose old ones are forfeited. They seem un- 
willing to rely on the generosity of the Company, and 
want new writings. I have the pleasure of your 

brother's company at this time. He held his first talk 
with the Smooth Nation, at Mr. Carter's this morning. 
Appearances are very promising. I natter myself he will 
do no discredit to his elder brother, in his negotiations 
with the aborigines." 70 

Glancing ahead of the date under consideration, we find 
that the sale of the six reserved townships, and also that 
of the city lots of Cleveland, fell short of the company's 
expectations. City lots which had been held for fifty dol- 
lars with down payment were now offered for twenty-five 
dollars, with time given. The treasury was replenished 
by assessments upon the stockholders, instead of from 
proceeds of sales. " By individual exertion," says Col. 
Whittlesey, " the private owners under the previous 
drafts, had disposed of limited amounts of lands, on 
terms which did not create very brilliant expectations of 
the speculation. In truth, the most fortunate of the ad- 
venturers realized a very meagre profit, and more of them 
were losers than gainers. Those Avho were able to make 
their payments and keep the property for their children, 
made a fair and safe investment. It was not until the 
next generation came to maturity, that lands on the Re- 
serve began to command good prices. Taxes, trouble and 
interest, had been long accumulating. Such of the pro- 
prietors as became settlers secured an excellent home at 
a cheap rate, and left as a legacy to their heirs a cheerful 
future." 

It was thought best that all the property should be in 
private hands, and on the 8th of December, 1802, another 
draft was made of the six townships which had been di- 
vided into ninety parcels, which included all of the lands 
east of the Cuyahoga, with the exception of a few Cleve- 
land city lots. The following is a list of the original own- 
ers of lots in Cleveland by draft, or first purchase : Samuel 

10 Whittlesey's " Early History of Cleveland," p. 376. 



g2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 

Huntington, Caleb Atwater, Lorenzo Carter, Ephraim 
Root, Elijah Boardman and others; Ezekiel Hawley, 
David Clark, Joseph Howland, Charles Dutton, James 
Kingsbury, Samuel W. Phelps, Joseph Perkins and 
others; Austin & Huntington, Wyles and others; Judson 
Canfield and others; Samuel P. Lord, Jr., William Shaw, 
Samuel Parkman, John Bolls and others; Asher Miller, 
Ephraim Stow and others ; Martin Sheldon and others ; 
Amos Spafford, Oliver Phelps, Richard W. Hart and 
others. 

The few settlers, who had made their home in Cleve- 
land previous to 1800, had troubled themselves but little 
with questions of legal jurisdiction or the form of local 
government nominally extending over them. They were 
far more interested in building their cabins and clearing 
their lands for corn or wheat. The proceedings of the 
first judicial body of the Northwest Territory, at Marietta, 
on the Ohio, in the fall of 1788, 71 therefore attracted little 
attention in this corner of that great expanse of wilder- 
ness. A more direct personal interest was of course felt 
in the first Court of Quarter Sessions of Trumbull 
County, to which Cleveland belonged, and which was 
held at Warren, on August 25th, 1800. The court was 
organized in this manner : Under the territorial law the 
governor was authorized to designate officers for any new 

n The first Court of General Quarter Sessions held in the "Territory- 
Northwest of the River Ohio," was opened at Marietta, in "Campus 
Martius," September 9, 1788. The commissions appointing the judges 
were read. Judges Putnam and Tupper, of the Common Pleas Court, 
were on the bench, and with Esquires Isaac Pearce, Thomas Lord, and 
Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. (three county justices of the peace or territo- 
rial magistrates), constituted the quorum of our first Court of Quarter 
Sessions, held a hundred years ago in the Northwest Territory. The first 
act of the court was to proceed to empanel a grand jury, which was ac- 
cordingly done, the following named gentlemen constituting that body, 
namely: William Stacey (foreman), Nathaniel Cushing, Nathan Good- 
ale, Charles Knowles, Anselm Tupper, Jonathan Stone, Oliver Rice, 
Ezra Lunt, John Matthews, George Ingersoll, Jonathan Devol, Jethro 
Putnam, Samuel Stebbins and Jabez True. And this was the first 
grand jury to exercise its important functions in the ' ' Territory North- 
west of the River Ohio. ' * 










o a 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



93 



county which he might choose to erect. The justices of 
the peace constituted the general court of the county, five 
of their number being designated justices of the quorum, 
and the others associates. They met quarterly; were 
known as the Court of the Quarter Sessions, and in their 
hands was lodged the entire civil jurisdiction of the 
county — local, legislative and judicial. 

The first session for Trumbull County opened on War- 
ren Common, at four in the afternoon, under a bower of 
trees, between two large corn-cribs. It continued five 
days, and the labors it accomplished can be best shown in 
the following synopsis of the record, 72 preserved in the 
handwriting of Judge Pease : 

;< Court of General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, be- 
gun and holden at Warren, within and for said county of 
Trumbull, on the fourth Monday of August, in the year 
of our Lord eighteen hundred, and of the independence 
of the United States, the twenty-fifth. Present, John 
Young, Turhand Kirtland, Camden Cleaveland, James 
Kingsbury, and Eliphalet Austin, Esquires, justices of 
the quorum, and others, their associates, justices of the 
peace, holding said court. The following persons were 
returned, and appeared on the grand jury, and were em- 
paneled and sworn, namely: Simon Perkins (foreman), 
Benjamin Stowe, Samuel Menough, Hawley Tanner, 
Charles Daly, Ebenezer King, William Cecil, John Hart 
Adgate, Henry Lane, Jonathan Church, Jeremiah Wil- 
cox, John Partridge Bissell, Isaac Palmer, George Phelps, 
Samuel Quimby, and Moses Park. The court appointed 
George Tod, Esq., to prosecute the pleas of the United 
States for the present session, who took the oath of 
office. The court ordered that the private seal of the 
clerk shall be considered the seal of the county, and be 
affixed and recognized as such till a public seal shall be 
procured. The court appointed Amos Spafford, Esq., 
David Hudson, Esq., Simon Perkins, Esq., John Minor, 

'' 2 " History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties," Cleveland, 1882, Vol. 
L, p. 66. 



94 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Esq., Aaron Wheeler, Esq., Edward Paine, Esq., and 
Benjamin Davidson, Esq. , a committee to divide the county 
of Trumbull into townships, to describe the limits, and 
boundaries of each township, and to make report to the 
court thereof." 

Acting in accordance with these instructions, the com- 
mittee divided the county into eight townships, 73 of 
which Cleveland was one, and the report was accepted 
and confirmed. Constables for the various townships were 
also appointed, Lorenzo Carter and Stephen Gilbert being 
designated to serve for Cleveland ; and after a variety of 
orders had been given upon minor matters by the court, 
it adjourned — and local civil government in north-eastern 
Ohio was started. 

It will be noted that Gilbert and Carter were not the 
only representatives of the village by the Cuyahoga, in 
these important judicial proceedings between two corn- 
cribs on Warren Common. Amos SparTord was a jus- 
tice, but not of the quorum. Our pioneer friend, James 
Kingsbury, occupied a seat of honor on the bench, due 
to an appointment at the hands of the territorial governor. 
At a subsequent period he held other offices of trust, being 
a justice of the peace, and collector of taxes, under the dis- 
trict system ; and, being elected a member of the Legisla- 
ture after Ohio had become a State, so well served his con- 
stituents that he was chosen for a second term. He died 
at his residence in Newburg, on December 12th, 1847. 74 

73 These eight townships were : Cleveland, Warren, Youngstown, Hudson, 
Vernon, Richfield, Middlefield, and Painesville. There were embraced with- 
in Cleveland township, Chester, Russell and Bainbridge, later of Geauga 
County ; all of the present county of Cuyahoga east of the river, and all of 
the Indian country from the Cuyahoga to the west line of the Reserve. 

74 The "Cleveland Plain Dealer," December 15th, 1847, says: "Of the 
Judge it may be said with propriety, that he was the patriarch of the 
land — among the last of the brave pioneers on the lake shore. He pos- 
sessed a noble heart — a heart that overflowed with kindness like the gush 
of a fountain. His generosities were never stinted in a good cause, nor his 
charities bestowed ostentatiously to be blazoned abroad among men. He 
regarded all mankind as his brethren and kinsmen, belonging to the same 
common household. ' ' 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 9S 



From the above action upon the part of the territorial 
authorities it will be understood, of course, that Connect- 
icut and the United States had come to an understanding 
as to their rights of jurisdiction over the Reserve, and 
that the proposed state of New Connecticut was already 
counted among the things gone by. The National Gov- 
ernment had simply withdrawn its claim to the soil, leav- 
ing the sales from Connecticut to the Connecticut Land 
Company and others good in law, while the New England 
State had in turn given up its claim to political sove- 
reignty. It was by right of this agreement, therefore, 
that Governor St. Clair had ordered the creation and 
organization of Trumbull County, as above recorded. On 
September 22nd, of the same year, he issued a proclama- 
tion for elections under the territorial system, command- 
ing the sheriff : ' ' That on the second Tuesday of Octo- 
ber, he cause an election to be held for the purpose of 
electing one person to represent the county in the Terri- 
torial Legislature." 

This election was, of course, held in the county seat, 
at Warren, and was conducted after the English method : 
The sheriff of the county assembling the electors by 
proclamation, presiding, and receiving the votes of the 
electors by word of mouth. On this occasion there were 
but forty-two votes cast, and as General Edward Paine 
received thirty-eight of these, he was declared elected, 
and took his seat in 1801. 

It was in the fall of 1800 that David Bryant came to 
Cleveland, with the purpose of making it his permanent 
home. In those days, prior to the passage of internal 
revenue laws, and the spread of a general temperance 
sentiment, a still was thought by many to be almost as 
necessary as a grist-mill or loom, and when the new 
arrival came, accompanied by a still which had seen serv- 
ice in Virginia, he was accorded a double welcome. He 
built a still-house " under the sand-bank," as his son 
Gilman tells us in the statement already quoted, "about 
twenty rods above L. Carter's, and fifteen feet from the 



9 6 the history of clevelaxd. 

river. The house was made of hewed logs, twenty by 
twenty-six, one and a half stories high. We took the 
water in a trough, out of some small springs, which came 
out of the bank, into the second story of the house, and 
made the whisky out of wheat." 

Mr. Bryant not only in this way opened a market for 
the disposal of superfluous grain, but became a producer 
as well. " My father purchased ten acres of land," con- 
tinues the son, " about one-fourth of a mile from the 
town plat, on the bank of the river, east of the town. In 
the winter of 1800 and the spring of 1801, I helped my 
father to clear five acres on said lot, which was planted 
with corn in the spring. Said ten acres were sold by my 
father in the spring of 1802, at the rate of two dollars and 
fifty cents per acre." 

In closing this chapter, and the year 1800 together, it 
seems well worth the space occupied to enumerate the 
settlers who had become permanently or for a time a part 
of Cleveland up to that time : 

1796. Job P. Stiles and wife; Edward Paine. 

1797. Lorenzo Carter and wife, and their children, 
Alonzo, Henry, Laura, Mercy and Betsy ; Miss Chloe 
Inches; James Kingsbury and wife, and their children, 
Amos S., Almon and Abigail; Ezekiel Hawly and wife, 
and one child; Elijah Gun and wife, and one child; Pierre 
Meloche ; Peleg Washburne. 

1798. Nathaniel Doan and wife, Job, and three daugh- 
ters, afterward Mrs. R. H. Blin, Mrs. Eddy, and Mrs. 
Baldwin; Samuel Dodge, Rodolphus Edwards, Nathan 
Chapman, Stephen Gilbert, Joseph Landon. 

1799. Richard H. Blin, William Wheeler Williams, 
Mr. Gallup, Major Wyatt. 

1800. Amos Spafford, wife and family; Alexander 
Campbell; David Clark and wife, and their children, 
Mason, Martin, James, Margaret and Lucy ; David Bry- 
ant, Gilman Bryant ; Samuel Jones. 



CHAPTER V. 



LAW, GOSPEL. AND EDUCATION. 



The law and the gospel in their visible forms reached 
Cleveland at about the same time, in the persons of Sam- 
uel Huntington, and the Rev. Joseph Badger. The first 
named was the earliest lawyer to settle in this city ; the 
latter was the first missionary of importance to follow a 
line of labor upon the Reserve. We have noted the pres- 
ence of the Rev. Seth Hart, who came as superintendent 
of the surveying party of 1797, 
but beyond his ministrations at 
the funeral of the drowned 
David Eldridge, and at Cleve- 
land's first wedding, there is 
little to show that he exercised 
his clerical offices while here. 

Samuel Huntington was a 
protege and adopted heir of his 
uncle and namesake, Governor 
Huntington, of Connecticut. 
He was a man of education, 
had traveled in Europe, was 
married and near thirty-five 
years of age. He made a tour 
of portions of the Ohio Country before becoming a resident, 
and was doubtless so pleased with the promise of the 
future that he determined to return. Leaving his home 
in Norwich, Connecticut, he reached Youngstown in 
July, 1800, and made a tour of the chief settlements of 
the Reserve on horseback. He kept a daily record of 
his movements, and the following brief extract therefrom 
will show how Cleveland appeared to his eyes in the 
early days of October: " Left David Abbott's mill (Wil- 




GOVERNOR SAMUEL HUNTINGTON. 



9 8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

loughby) and came to Cleveland. Stayed at Carter's at 
night. Explored the city and town ; land high and flat, 
covered with white oak. On the west side of the river is 
a long, deep stagnant pond of water, which produces fever 
and ague, among those who settle near the river. There 
are only three families near the point, and they have 
the fever. 

" Sailed out of the Cuyahoga, along the coast, to ex- 
plore the land west of the river. Channel at the mouth 
about five feet deep. On the west side is a prairie, where 
one hundred tons of hay might be cut each year. A lit- 
tle way back is a ridge, from which the land descends to 
the lake, affording a prospect indescribably beautiful. In 
the afternoon went to Williams's grist and saw-mill (New- 
burg), which are nearly completed. " 

Mr. Huntington went south as far as Marietta, on the 
Ohio, where he made the acquaintance of Governor St. 
Clair and other gentlemen connected with the territorial 
government. He returned to Connecticut in the fall, and 
in accordance with a resolution already formed, removed 
with his family to Youngstown, early in the summer of 
1 80 1. He soon after concluded to make Cleveland his 
home, and arranged with Amos Spaflord for the construc- 
tion of a house of some pretensions, near the bluff south 
of Superior street, in rear of the site of the American 
House. He was accompanied by his wife, and Miss Mar- 
garet Cobb, a companion and governess; and two sons, 
Julius C. and Colbert. It is needless to say that their 
arrival was welcomed as a notable addition to the little 
community. 

Although Mr. Huntington was the only lawyer in the 
vicinity, it is not supposed that he garnered an extensive 
amount of practice, with the county court no nearer than 
Warren, and very few litigants ; with not many questions 
to quarrel over. He was able to make himself useful in 
various ways, and we find him occasionally mentioned in 
the early records of the township. Thus, in 1802, he was 
elected one of the supervisors of highways — certainly not 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. gg 



an exalted position, but one with many opportunities for 
usefulness in a new country; in 1807, he was a member of 
the board of commissioners in charge of that famous lot- 
tery (that never came off) for the improvement of the 
Cuyahoga and Muskingum rivers ; while we learn that in 
1805 he "abandoned his hewed log house, the most aristo- 
cratic residence in Cleveland city, and removed to the 
mill he had purchased at the falls of Mill Creek " — driven 
away, probably, by the same malarial causes that had 
sent so many earlier settlers out to the hills. 

A wider field of usefulness was opened before him. 
Soon after his settlement in Cleveland, the governor ap- 
pointed him lieutenant colonel of the Trumbull County 
militia, and in 1802 one of the justices of the quorum, and 
priority was conceded to him on the bench of Quarter 
Sessions. He was also, in the same year, elected to the 
convention to form a State Constitution; was chosen 
Senator from the county of Trumbull, and on the meet- 
ing of the Legislature at Chillicothe was made president 
of that body. In 1803, he was appointed a judge of the 
Supreme Court of Ohio, his commission, it is said, being 
the first issued under the authority of the State of Ohio. 
In 1807, he was elected governor of the State, succeeding 
Governor Tiffin, who became a Senator of the United 
States. On the conclusion of his term, Governor Hunt- 
ington retired to his farm near Painesville, where he re- 
mained until his death, in 18 17. 

It was a characteristic feature of this transplanted New 
England life and thought that in the pursuit of material 
things the church and school-house were not forgotten. 
As a general thing, as soon as the things absolutely essen- 
tial to physical life were provided, steps were taken for 
the support of the gospel and the instruction of the 
young. The missionary was followed by the itinerant 
minister, and' he in turn by the settled pastor, as soon as 
the strength of the community would permit. The sti- 
pend of the latter was of an uncertain quantity and a very 
indefinite quality, as it came of the commodities of the 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



day and region, with a very small percentage of cash. In 
one ancient subscription list, where the people of five 
townships banded together for the support of a minister, 
we find the following pledge : 

" We do by these presents bind ourselves, our heirs, 
executors, and administrators firmly, to pay the sums an- 
nexed to each of our names, without fraud or delay, for 
the term of three years, to the Rev. Giles Cowles, the 
pay to be made in wheat, rye, corn, oats, potatoes, mess- 
pork, whisky, etc. , the produce of farms, as shall be needed 
by the said Mr. Cowles and family, together with chop- 
ping, logging, fencing, etc. We agree, likewise, should 
any contribute anything within said term of three years 
toward the support of the said Mr. Cowles, it shall be de- 
ducted according to the sum annexed to each man's 
name. We likewise agree that the preaching in each 
town shall be in proportion to what each town subscribes 
for said preaching." 

One of the first sermons heard on the Reserve, after its 

settlement, if not the first, 
was delivered by the Rev. 
William Wick, of Wash- 
ington County, Pennsyl- 
vania, who held services 
at Youngstown, on Sep- 
tember ist, 1799. The 
Rev. Joseph Badger was. 
however, the most promi- 
nent of the Protestant mis- 
sionaries sent into this 
wilderness, and his serv- 
ices were such as to entitle 
him to more than a passing 
mention. He was a native of Massachusetts, where he 
was born in 1757; enlisted at eighteen in the Revolu- 
tionary Army, where he gave a valiant service for three 
years ; entered college in 1781 and graduated in 1785; 
studied for the ministry, and was licensed to preach in 




REV. JOSEPH BADGER. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



1786. He occupied a pulpit in Massachusetts for a 
short period, when he resigned, and accepted a call to go, 
as a missionary, to the Western Reserve, under the 
auspices of the Connecticut Missionary Society. 

On the 15th of November, 1800, he mounted his horse, 
and set out for his far-away field of labor. He passed 
through Pennsylvania, crossed the Allegheny Mount- 
ains in a snow-storm, and reached Pittsburg on De- 
cember 14th. After a couple of days of rest, he again 
pushed on through the woods, and late on a Saturday 
night reached Youngstown. His first sermon on the 
Reserve was preached on the Sabbath following to almost 
the entire population finding shelter in the half-dozen 
log-cabins of which the town was composed. He soon 
pushed on to other settlements, visiting Vienna, Hart- 
ford, Vernon. Cleveland, and elsewhere in turn. " In 
this way," says his biographer, 75 " Rev. Mr. Badger vis- 
ited, in the course of the year 1801, every settlement and 
nearly every family throughout the Western Reserve. 
In doing this, he often rode from five to twenty-five or 
thirty miles a day, carrying with him in saddle-bags a 
scanty supply of clothing and eatables, and'often travers- 
ing pathless woodlands, amid storms and tempests, swim- 
ming unbridged rivers, and suffering from cold and 
hunger, and at the same time, here and there, visiting lone 
families, giving them and their children religious instruc- 
tion and wholesome advice, and preaching at points 
wherever a few could be gathered together, sometimes in 
a log-cabin or in a barn, and sometimes in the open field 
or in a woodland, beneath the shadows of the trees. At 
about this time he preached the first sermon ever heard 
in Cleveland." 

He was a visitor at this city on the 18th of August, 
1 80 1, and lodged at Lorenzo Carter's. On the 6th of Sep- 
tember he enters this record: " We swam our horses 
across the Cuyahoga by means of a canoe, and took 
an Indian path up the lake ; came to Rocky River, 

' 5 " Joseph Badger," by Harvey Rice, " Sketches of Western Life," p. 59. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



the banks of which were very high, on the west side 
almost perpendicular. While cutting the brush to open 
a way for our horses, we were saluted by the song 
of a large yellow rattlesnake, which we removed out of 
our way." In the year following, 1802, he again visited 
Cleveland, and did not receive a favorable impression con- 
cerning the religious desires of its people. He says: 
11 Mr. Burke's family in Euclid, had been in this lone sit- 
uation for over three years. The woman had been 
obliged to spin and weave cattle's hair to make covering 
for her children's bed. From thence I went to Cleveland, 
visited the only two families, and went on to Newburg, 
where I preached on the Sabbath. There were five fam- 
ilies here, but no apparent piety. They seemed to glory 
in their infidelity." 

In the fall of 1801, Mr. Badger visited Detroit on horse- 
back, laboring by the way with both white and red as 
they came across his path. It is not a specially engaging 
view of the moral condition of the day, when we read his 
statement that he found no one in all the region whom 
he could regard as a Christian, " except a black man who 
appeared pious." On his return he paid a visit to Hud- 
son — a little later the seat of learning of north-eastern 
Ohio — where he found material from which to organize a 
church, the membership of which consisted of ten men 
and six women. To Hudson, therefore, belongs the 
credit of the first church organization on the Reserve. 

In October, he returned to New England, where he 
made arrangements to return to the west with his family, 
on a salary of seven dollars per week. On February 
23rd, 1802, he loaded his household effects and family into 
a wagon drawn by four horses, and started upon his long 
journey, covering the six hundred miles in sixty days. 
He decided to make his home in Austinburg, Avhere he 
purchased a small lot of land and put up a log-cabin. He 
soon resumed his labors in the field, traveling from point 
to point as before. A little later a revival season of con- 
siderable power was commenced as the result of his min- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ioj 

istrations. He organized many churches and schools and 
continued still in the field, although his eastern sponsors 
reduced his pay to six dollars per week. In 1809, he re- 
turned to Connecticut, made a final settlement with the 
missionary society, and worked no longer under its direc- 
tion. He came back to the Reserve, and labored as a 
missionary among the Indians between the Cuyahoga and 
Detroit. He took an active interest in the War of 18 12, 
and at the command of General Harrison filled the posi- 
tion of chaplain. He afterwards settled as the pastor of a 
church at Austinburg ; held various charges in other loca- 
tions, and died at Perrysburg in 1846, at the advanced 
age of eighty-nine years. 

" In personal appearance," to again quote from his bi- 
ographer, " Rev. Joseph Badger was tall, slim, erect, had 
blue eyes, brown hair, and a pleasing expression of face. 
In temperament and action, he was quick and somewhat 
impulsive, yet he was considerate and slow of utterance, 
rarely, if ever, uttering an imprudent word. In his so- 
cial intercourse, he was sedate or facetious, as the occasion 
seemed to require. He enjoyed hearing and telling 
amusing anecdotes. In his style of preaching, he was 
apostolic, plain, simple and logical. In creed he was an 
orthodox Presbyterian. He had but one grand aim in 
life, and that was to do what he could to advance the 
moral and spiritual welfare of mankind. In a word, Rev. 
Joseph Badger, though dead, still lives and will ever live 
in memory as the early western missionary whose philan- 
thropic and life-long labors were prompted by the spirit 
of a true Christian manhood. ' ' ;6 

The arrival of Samuel Huntington and Mr. Badger near 
the same period, and their connection in the beginning 

76 A brief mention of other early missionaries is permissible here. Na- 
than B. Darrow lived in Vienna, Trumbull County, where he supplied a 
church for a portion of the time, and performed missionary labor for the 
remainder. Another was Jonathan Leslie, whose home was in Harpers- 
field. Joshua Beer made his home in Springfield, now Summit County, 
was of Scotch-Irish descent, and "preached very acceptably." Thomas 
Barr lived in Euclid, Cuyahoga County, and was ' ' one of the most ardent 



io 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

of this chapter as Cleveland's first bodily exponents of 
the law and the gospel, recall a reputed experience of 
each, in illustration of the fact that life and travel in the 
early days were not without bodily danger. It is told of 
Mr. Huntington that, while a resident of Cleveland, he 
came near being devoured by wolves, as he rode in from 
Painesville, on the Euclid road. He was on horseback, 
alone, in the dark, and floundering through the swamp 
near the present corner of Willson and Euclid avenues. 
A pack of hungry wolves fell upon his trail, and made a 
combined attack upon horse and man. The former, in 
desperate fright,, made the best possible use of his heels, 
while the latter laid about him with the only weapon at 
command — an umbrella. Between speed and defense, 
both were saved, and brought up in safety at the log- 
house down near Superior street. 

The experience of Mr. Badger was of a similar charac- 
ter. He was urging his faithful horse through the woods 
of the Grand River bottoms, while the rain was pouring 
down in torrents, and a place of shelter was one of the 
uncertain possibilities of the future. There came to him 
after a time the knowledge that some wild animal was on 
his trail, and raising his voice, he sent up a shout that 
would have frightened many of the smaller denizens of 
the forest. But it had no such effect on the big bear that 
was on his trail. On the contrary, the brute was aroused 
to immediate action, and made a rush for the missionary, 
with hair on end and eyes of fire. The only weapon Mr. 
Badger had about him, if such it might be called, was a 
large horseshoe, which he threw at the bear's nose, and 
missed. Then he rode under a beech tree, tied his horse 

and energetic men to be found." Giles H. Cowles, of Austinburg, was / 
' ' a man of good sense and fine education ; a fine example of a Connecticut 
pastor. ' ' John Seward preached in Aurora, and filled in his spare time 
in missionary labor. William Handford, Harvey Coe, Caleb Pitkin, Joseph 
Treat, Mr. Bacon and Joseph Merriam must be added to this honorable 
list. — See paper on "Pioneer Clergymen," by Samuel Bissell, "Annals 
of Early Settlers' Association," No. 4, p. 42. Mention should also be 
made of Rev. Thomas Robbins, whose labors are described elsewhere. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ioj 

to a branch, deserted the saddle with celerity, and climbed 
upward. He kept on for a long distance, found a con- 
venient seat, tied himself to the tree with a large ban- 
danna, and awaited results. The bear was meanwhile 
nosing about the horse, as though preparing for an 
attack. The wind came up, the thunder rolled, and the 
rain fell in torrents. The occasional flashes of lightning 
showed that the horse was still safe, with the bear on 
guard. And there the poor missionary clung all night, 
cold, wet through, tired and sleepy; and there the bear 
waited for him to come down. But at daybreak he made 
for his lair, while Mr. Badger worked his way down as 
well as he could, and rode for the nearest settlement. 

As a matter of historic good faith, it must be admitted 
that Mr. Badger and others who made note of ungodli- 
ness, and more or less of actual evil, on the Reserve, in 
these early days, were fully justified in all they said. In 
Cleveland, for instance, they managed to exist until 1816 
without a church organization, and possessed no church 
building until 1829, while constables, and courts, and the 
machinery for the conduct of civil affairs, made their ap- 
pearance at a much earlier day. It has become a popular 
impression that the pioneers of not only the Western Re- 
serve, but of all western sections where New England 
elements predominated, were pious and God-fearing men, 
who had little need of courts or the officers of the law. 
This impression is too often strengthened by those who 
talk of ' ' the good old times " ina strain that would indi- 
cate that all of the early times were good, and nothing 
but good. 

On the other hand, it is a fact that the strong arm of 
the law was needed in early north-eastern Ohio as else- 
where. There was no lack of the hardy virtues of cour- 
age, hospitality, comradeship and backwoods chivalry, 
nor was there an absence of qualities of a less attractive 
character. This view is well supported by one writer," 

77 " Rev. Dr. Robbins on the Western Reserve," by B. A. Hinsdale, in 
" Magazine of Western History," Vol. X., p. 358. 



io6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

who points out the fact that ' ' the first settlers were not 
generally godly men, such as founded Plymouth, Massa- 
chusetts, and Connecticut, or even Marietta and Gran- 
ville, Ohio. The men who have created the traditional 
view of the early history of the Reserve have either been 
ignorant of the following facts, or they have accorded to 
them little weight : First, the Reserve was opened to set- 
tlement at a time when religion in New England was at 
a low ebb. Secondly, Old Connecticut did not at first 
send, as a rule, what she considered her best elements to 
New Connecticut. At a later day, the character of the 
emigration improved in respect to religion and morals ; 
but the first emigration was largely made up of men who 
desired to throw off the heavy trammels of an old and 
strongly conservative community, where Church and 
State were closely connected, and where society was dom- 
inated by political and religious castes. Still further, the 
east was at this time swept by an epidemic of land specu- 
lation ; while the laxative moral influence of a removal 
from an old and well-ordered society to the woods pro- 
duced its usual effects." 

This view is supported by the comments made by Rev. 
Dr. Thomas Robbins, 78 a missionary whose labors upon 
the Reserve were contemporaneous with those of Mr. 
Badger. He came to Ohio in 1803, reaching Poland in 
November, where his first sermon was preached. He 
traveled all over the Reserve, making notes of his im- 
pressions by the way, and describing affairs as they pre- 
sented themselves to his vision. There is little doubt 
that his observations were made from an unusually 
high moral standpoint, and that he saw evil where 
others might have noted only an absence of religious 
interest. His language is plain and to the point. There 
was inattention to spiritual matters everywhere. At 
Canfield the people " appear very stupid," in matters 
of religion and are not " disposed to attend lectures; 

18 " Diary of Thomas Robbins, D. D., 1796-1S54." Edited and anno- 
tated by Increase N. Tarbox: two volumes. Boston, 18S6. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



107 



many people held bad principles in religion, and some 
were much inclined to infidelity." At Warren they 
" were careless about religious affairs;" and later he 
adds the surprising statement that " the greater part of 
the New England people in the country are pretty loose 
characters." 

In Poland they are ' ' pretty stupid in regard to the ex- 
cellency and spirit of religion ; " in Hudson even ' ' the 
serious people " were " dull and worldly." In Cleveland 
he found the people " loose in principles and conduct," 
and " few of them had heard a sermon or a hymn in 
eighteen months." According to his rigid views, there 
are few serious persons in 
Middlefield ; in Mesopo- 
tamia they are " much in- 
clined to infidelity;" in 
Mentor they traded on the 
Sabbath. It is only fair 
to assume that in all this 
Mr. Robbins spoke from 
an extreme standpoint, and 
meant simply that all that 
which was not directly re- 
ligious needed his condem- 
nation. 

The year 1801 was not 
eventful, so far as the fortunes of Cleveland were con- 
cerned. Elisha Norton opened a store in Carter's house. 
Mr. Spafford re-surveyed the streets and lanes of the city 
in November, and " planted fifty-four posts of oak, about 
one foot square, at the principal corners," for which he 
charged a half-dollar each, " and fifty cents for grub- 
bing out a tree at the north-east corner of the Square." 
Local improvements were certainly not progressing at a 
promising rate. It is a comfort to learn that the health 
of the people was good. 

Among the arrivals was that of Samuel Hamilton and 
family, who settled in Newbursr. Another notable ac- 




JOHN DOAN. 



10S THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

cession was that of the family of Timothy Doan, a 
brother of Xathaniel Doan, whose location in Cleveland 
and subsequent removal to Doan's Corners has already 
been recorded. Timothy was a resident of Herkimer 
County, X. Y., but was "seized with the western fever," 
as we are told by his son, John Doan. 79 The family 
consisted of father, mother and six children — Nancy, 
Seth, Timothy, Jr., Mary, Deborah and John, who was 
then but three years old. They traveled with ox teams, 
and one pair of horses. The father and one son pushed 
on ahead from Buffalo, by way of Indian trails, carrying 
a part of the household goods on the backs of horses and 
oxen, as there were no roads for wagons. " In 1799, a 
road had been surveyed from the Pennsylvania line to 
the Cuyahoga River," to quote from the son's narrative, 
" but no bridge had been built over the intervening 
streams. They pushed through to Uncle Xathaniel 's 
house in East Cleveland, and were soon enjoying their 
first attack of aoqie." 

The mother and the four children left with her at Buf- 
falo, made the trip by water. She was accompanied by 
an Indian, and several white men Avho had been engaged 
to assist her on the journey. They came in a row-boat 
propelled by oars at times, and again by a tow-line car- 
ried on the bank. Besides their furniture and household 
goods, they carried a box of live geese, which were de- 
clared to be " the first domesticated birds of the kind 
ever brought into Ohio." At the mouth of Grand River 
the boat was overturned, throwing mother, children, 
goods and box overboard. By good fortune the water 
was shallow, and while the red man carried the children 
ashore, the white men and Mrs. Doan saved the goods. 
The geese were carried out into the lake, but becoming 
in some way freed from their prison, swam ashore, and 
were recaptured. 

' 9 " Sketch of the Doan Family," by John Doan, " Annals of the Early 
Settlers' Association," No. 6, p. 51. We sometimes find the name of this 
pioneer family spelled with a final "e." The author has followed the 
spelling almost universally used in the records. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. iog 

At this point, Timothy and Nathaniel met them, and 
the boat was taken on to Cleveland without further ad- 
venture. Mrs. Doan, however, had no further desire for 
marine traveling, and insisted upon coming overland. 
: ' As none of the men could be spared to accompany 
mother," says the son, John, " Uncle Nathaniel came 
with her. They came on horseback, having two horses, 
and bringing three children. Polly and Deborah rode 
with Uncle Nathaniel on one, and mother riding the other 
carried me. The first clearing we reached was at Men- 
tor, where there were two or three houses. The next 
break in the woods was at Willoughby, where 'Squire 
Abbott, who had arrived in 1 798 and built the first mill 
in this section, lived. For another six miles we saw 
no houses. Then we passed the log residence of Joseph 
Burke, one of the earliest settlers on the Reserve, who 
had a brother living in Newburg. After traveling 
nine miles further west, without passing or seeing a 
single house, we arrived at Uncle Nathaniel Doan's log- 
cabin, in April, 1801. It may be considered by some 
a rather remarkable fact that in the eighty odd years 
since my advent into East Cleveland, I have always lived 
within two and a half miles of the spot where Uncle 
Nathaniel's house then stood." 

Timothy purchased two one hundred and sixty-acre 
sections of land, for which he paid a little over one dollar 
an acre. He built a log-house under a hill south of the 
Euclid road, six miles east of the Public Square, into 
which they moved in November. " The location," adds 
the son, " which was in the midst of a large hickory 
grove, proved very desirable that winter, for we were 
able to get little but hickory nuts to eat. There was a 
camp of Indians within forty rods of the house, and my 
only playmates for several years were Indian pappooses. 
We lived in this log-cabin about six years, father and the 
older boys clearing away the timber and raising corn and 
potatoes among the stumps. They did not plow the 
ground, but dragged it." 



no THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

It was in this year 1801 that Cleveland celebrated the 
Fourth of July with the first grand social gathering it had 
attempted. It was regarded as a success in all essential 
features, and was held in Major Carter's double log- 
house, on the hill, near the corner of Union and Superior 
lanes. It is related in the manuscript collections of Judge 
Barr that John Wood, Ben "Wood and R. H. Blin acted 
as managers; Major Samuel Jones was chief musician and 
master of ceremonies; while about a dozen ladies and 
twenty gentlemen constituted the company. " Notwith- 
standing the floors were of rough puncheons, and their 
best beverage was made of maple sugar, hot water and 
whisky, probably no celebration of American independ- 
ence was ever more joyous than this." 

The arrival of Timothy Doan's family in the preceding 
spring afforded one young man an opportunity of show- 
ing his gallantry, by a ride of six miles and back as 
escort, and has given us a pleasant little picture of the 
social life of the day. Gilman Bryant, whose father had 
cut Newburg's first mill-stones, and set up Cleveland's 
earliest whisky still, has described his part in this ball, 
in the statement already quoted: " I waited on Miss 
Doan, who had just arrived at the Corners, four miles east 
of town. I was then about seventeen years of age, and 
Miss Doan about fourteen. I was dressed in the then 
style — a gingham suit — my hair queued with one and a 
half yards of black ribbon, about as long and as thick as 
a corncob, with a little tuft at the lower end; and for the 
want of pomatum, I had a piece of candle rubbed on my 
hair, and then as much flour sprinkled on, as could stay 
without falling off. I had a good wool hat, and a pair of 
brogans that would help to play ' Fisher's Hornpipe,' or 
i Hie, Bettie Martin,' when I danced. When I went for 
Miss Doan I took an old horse ; when she was ready I 
rode up to a stump near the cabin, she mounted the 
stump, and spread her under petticoat on Old Tib behind 
me, secured her calico dress to keep it clean, and then 
mounted on behind me. I had a fine time!" 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



In 1802, the administration of territorial affairs had so 
changed that citizens of the townships were permitted to 
elect their trustees, appraisers, supervisors of highways, 
fence-viewers, overseers of the poor and constables, by 
viva voce vote, although the choice of their justices of the 
peace and militia officers was not yet permitted them. It 
was ordered, in the February preceding, by the Court of 
Quarter Sessions that the first town meeting for Cleve- 
land should be held at the house of James Kingsbury. 
The following is the official report of that gathering : 

" Agreeably to order of the Court of General Quarter 
Sessions, the inhabitants of the town of Cleaveland met 
at the house of James Kingsbury, Esq., the 5th day of 
April, A. D. 1802, for a town meeting, and chose: 

" Chairman, Rodolphus Edwards. 

" Town Clerk, Nathaniel Doan. 

* Trustees, Amos Spafford, Esq., Timothy Doan, Wm. 
W. Williams. 

" Appraisers of Houses, Samuel Hamilton, Elijah Gun. 

" Lister, Ebenezer Ayrs. 

" Supervisors of Highways, Sam'l Huntington, Esq., 
Nath'l Doan, Sam'l Hamilton. 

' Overseers of the Poor, William W. Williams, Samuel 
Huntington, Esq. 

" Fence Viewers, Lorenzo Carter, Nathan Chapman. 
' Constables, Ezekiel Hawley, Richard Craw. 
' A true copy of the proceedings of the inhabitants of 
Cleaveland at their town meeting, examined per me, 

Nathaniel Doan, Town Clerk." 

At the August sitting of the court that had ordered the 
above election, Amos Spafford and Lorenzo Carter were 
each granted a license to keep a tavern, on the payment 
of four dollars. Carter put up a frame house 80 on the 
hill, west of Water street and north of Superior lane, 
which was burned down almost as soon as finished. 
Amos Spafford also built himself a frame house, near 

80 The date given in Whittlesey's " Early History of Cleveland," p. 10, is 
1802. Lorenzo Carter's son, Alonzo, places it in 1803. 



THE HISTORY OE CLE VELA XD. 



the west end of Superior street, on the south side. Amos 
further proved his enterprise in the year following by the 
erection of yet another frame house, on the brow of the 
hill, between Superior and Vineyard lanes, at the end of 
Superior street. This building is identified to the re- 
membrance of the older settlers by a memorandum in the 
Barr manuscripts, 81 to the effect that Daniel AVorley, 
postmaster, once occupied it as a residence. 

The public instruction of the young was inaugurated 
in Cleveland in the year now under consideration, by 
Miss Anna Spafford, who made effective use of the well 
known " front room " of Major Carter's, where she gath- 
ered perhaps a dozen youngsters of the settlement, and 
taught them the simplest forms of book knowledge. 8 ' 2 It 
is really to be regretted that the early chroniclers, who 
tell us so much about Bryant's distillery, and the hang- 
ing of a young Indian, have left such meager details con- 
cerning this modest venture. When the history of edu- 
cation in Ohio comes to be fully written, it will be found 
that out of these little educational gatherings, found here 
and there in the scattered settlements, was evolved that 
wonderful force that, in the hands of men like Harvey 
Rice and his helpers, was made a mighty power in our 
common school system of a later day. 

Education was, even in that day, a matter of almost re- 
ligious duty with the New Englander, and when the sons 
of Connecticut and Massachusetts brought their small 
possessions and large ambitions into the wilderness, they 

81 Col. Whittlesey in his preface to " Early History of Cleveland," says: 
' ' The materials for this work have been accumulating many years, but were 
far from complete, when Judge Barr turned over to me his historical col- 
lections without reservation. He has been engaged, with much assiduity, 
more than a quarter of a century, in reclaiming the personal history of 
the pioneers ; a labor which I trust their descendants will appreciate. The 
extent of the obligations I am under to him will appear frequently in this 
volume. ' ' 

82 It seems necessary to state that in the Barr manuscripts (" Early History 
of Cleveland," p. 360), we find this statement, under date of 1S00 : "A 
school-house was built this season, near Kingsbury's, on the ridge road, 
and Miss Sarah Doan, daughter of Nathaniel Doan, was the teacher." 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. iij 

brought, also, their faith in knowledge, and set up the 
school-house as soon as the log-cabin and the church were 
completed. A most potent fact in illustration of this is 
found in a comparison of those settlements in the new 
west which were settled from the south, with those 
whose population came from New England. 

Marietta, on the Ohio, built by the descendants of the 
Puritans of Massachusetts, had hardly been set fairly un- 
der way before Daniel Story was at work in his combined 
office of minister and schoolmaster. As early as 1790, 
Bethesda Rouse conducted a school for boys and girls in 
Belpre ; down on the Ohio, at Columbia, Frances Dun- 
levy opened a school near the close of 1792; in 1802, a 
school was established in Harpersfield, and soon enjoyed 
a noted reputation, under the able direction of Abraham 
Tappan. 

The subject of education was frequently discussed in 
the territorial legislatures, and although little or nothing 
was done, there was enough said to show that the matter 
was counted of no small importance. In the first consti- 
tution of the State, it was made an imperative duty that 
schools and the means of education should be carefully 
looked after ; while in another section the interests of the 
poor in this regard were carefully guarded. It was re- 
quired in the ordinance of 1787, that schools and the 
means of education should be encouraged, while the new 
constitution pointed out how this end could be secured. 
" From 1802 to 1821," to quote from an able article along 
this line of thought, 83 " the acts of the Legislature re- 
garding education, under the power conferred by the 
constitution, were confined to the passage of bills author- 
izing the incorporation of seminaries, religious and edu- 
cational societies, and providing for the lease of school 
land. Nothing was done toward the establishment of 
schools by means of local or general taxation. ■ 
It must not be understood that there were none to 

83 " Early Education in Ohio." — Magazine of Western History, Vol. 
III., p. 219. 



ii 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

lift up a voice to advocate a system of common schools. 
During the first twenty years of Ohio's existence, the men 
holding office were earnest in their endeavor to obtain a 
wise legislation on the part of the General Assembly. Pri- 
vate citizens were not lacking who tried to show the Legis- 
lature the importance of the trust confided to their keeping, 
and who were swift to denounce the power of abuse over 
the common school lands, by which the children of the 
next generation would be deprived of their just rights." 

The schools within reach of all classes prior to the pas- 
sage of the Ohio common school law were such as were 
provided by private means. In the days when Miss Doan 
and Miss Spafford taught the youngsters of Cleveland 
and " the Ridge," only the rudest surroundings and the 
humblest appliances were within their reach. One of 
the earliest school-houses has been thus described : A log- 
cabin with a rough stone chimney ; a foot or two cut here 
and there to admit the light, with greased paper over the 
openings; a large fire-place; puncheon floor; a few 
benches made of split logs with the flat side up, and a 
well developed birch rod over the master's seat. A 
teacher who, as late as 1813, received ten dollars a 
month, payable in produce, was looked upon as receiving 
good wages. We are told of an ambitious young man of 
Lorain County, who desired higher instruction than the 
neighborhood afforded, and rode over one hundred miles 
before he could find a Latin dictionary. Even books of 
the commonest character were not to be had in abun- 
dance, and in one of the schools the letters of the alphabet 
were pasted on one side of a small wooden paddle, and 
the multiplication table on the other. It was passed 
from hand to hand for the purpose of study, and often, 
when not in use as an educational factor, was converted 
into an instrument for the enforcement of obedience. 

"If a family possessed a Webster s Spelling Book" 
says one of the pioneers, 84 in writing of a little later 

84 ' ' Incidents in the career of the Morgan Family, ' ' by Isham A. Mor- 
gan, " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 5, p. 28. 




< 
u 

o» 

'Si 

u 
13 

M 
P4 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 115 

time, " an American Preceptor, or a Columbian Orator, 
or a Dwight's Geography, which were used for reading 
books, a Daboll's or Adams's Arithmetic, and a slate and 
pencil for ciphering, and paper, ink and goose quills for 
writing, and possibly a Murray's Grammar for such as 
wished to study grammar; with these it was supposed 
that the youths were fully armed and equipped for school 
exercise. Taking the dinner basket filled with the noon 
repast, they put out for the log school-house, perhaps 
from one to three miles distant, and the greater part of 
the way through the woods. And on their arrival there, 
spent their hours with their teacher in acquiring a knowl- 
edge of what was called a common school education." 
Judge Dickman, in the address already quoted, tells of 
three Western Reserve boys of the early day who left 
home for Connecticut to get their education, Avith fifteen 
dollars among them, and so frugally did they fare, and 
so economically did they travel, that on their arrival 
East they still had twelve dollars ; while another young 
man, who went to New England for an education " bought 
him a cow, and trudging at her heels with his book, lived on 
her milk and what he got in exchange for it, and sold her 
at an advance when he reached his point of destination." 
If the records show us but little concerning the schools 
kept by Miss Spafford and Miss Doan, the same cannot 
be said of a more ambitious endeavor that came but a few 
years later. Asael Adams, who was born on July 9th, 
1786, at Canterbury, Conn., was brought by his father to 
Liberty township, Trumbull County, O., in 1802. (He 
became a brother-in-law of Camden Cleaveland, who was 
a brother of Moses Cleaveland.) When but twenty years 
of age, young Adams came to Cleveland, where he 
opened a school — the first of the kind of any pretension 
of which I have found trace. His salary was ten dol- 
lars per month and board, and among his patrons were 
Samuel Huntington, James Kingsbury, W. W. Williams, 
George Kilbourne, Susannah Hammil, Elijah Gun, and 
David Kellogg. Governor Huntington sent four children 



u6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 

to the school, George Kilbourne three, James Hamilton 
two, James Kingsbury five, David Kellogg three, and 
W. W. Williams four. " This log school-house," says 
the son 85 of this teacher, from whom this information was 
obtained, " stood near the foot of Superior street. This 
school was the simple expression of the will of a sturdy 
community to give its boys and girls as good a chance as 
the community could then afford to pay for." The 
agreement made in October, 1806, under which Mr. 
Adams taught, was as follows : 

' ' Articles of agreement made and entered into between 
Asael Adams on the one part and the undersigned on the 
other, witnesseth, that we, the undersigned, do agree to 
hire the said Adams for the sum of Ten Dollars (Si 0.00) 
a month, to be paid in money or wheat at the market 
price, whenever such time may be that the school doth 
end, and to make said house comfortable for the school 
to be taught in, and to furnish benches and fire-wood 
sufficient. And I, the said Adams, do agree to keep six 
hours in each day, and to keep good order in said school." 

The year 1803 86 is introduced by one of our earlier local 
historians, as characterized by three blessings: Good 
health for the people ; an increase in emigration, and the 
organization of the State of Ohio. 

The two first-named had a direct bearing upon the 
fortunes of Cleveland. The third may not have been so 
early in its effects, but of course the formation of a stable 
State government had in the long run an influence for good 
upon the growth and development of all the territory with- 
in its borders. 

S5 The author is tinder obligations to Whittlesey Adams, of Warren, 
Ohio, for this original information concerning this school. Mr. Adams is 
the possessor of the original contract quoted above, and also of two con- 
tracts for carrying mail, between Asael Adams and the Government, re- 
ference to which is made at a later point. Asael Adams was the father 
of Comfort A. Adams, Asael E. Adams, Fitch Adams and Alfred Adams, 
of Cleveland, and George Adams and Whittlesey Adams, of Warren. 

86 It is in this year that Harris's " Journal of a Tour " (p. 120), speaks 
of Cleveland as " a pleasant little town, favorably situated on the borders 
of Lake Erie, at the mouth of Cuyahoga River." 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 117 

The election of Edward Paine to the Territorial Legisla- 
ture has already been recorded. He found that body di- 
vided into factions, and with much heat discussing the 
question whether Ohio should continue in her present 
condition, or form a State Government. There was no 
small opposition to Governor St. Clair, and in 1801 
Thomas Worthington was sent to Congress by those op- 
posed, and largely through his efforts a law was passed 
authorizing a State Convention for the purpose of consid- 
ering the expediency of a State Government, and to form 
a Constitution if the people so wished. 

In accordance with this act, the first Constitutional 
Convention met at Chillicothe, on November 1st, 1802. 
As already stated, Samuel Huntington represented Trum- 
bull County. The duty entrusted to that great body 
was soon performed. The organic law, expressed in the 
document there carefully prepared, was sound and prac- 
tical, and the people of Ohio lived under its restrictions 
and safeguards for over fifty years. It was never submit- 
ted to the people, but adopted directly by the body in 
which it was formed. By an act of Congress it was ap- 
proved on February, 1803, and Ohio proudly took her 
position as the seventeenth State in the Union. 

Under the provisions of the Constitution, State officers 
were elected, and on March 1st, 1803, the first State Leg- 
islature met at Chillicothe. Courts were created, and 
election laws passed; new counties organized, and State 
officers appointed — Samuel Huntington taking his seat as 
one of the first judges of the Ohio Supreme Court. 

In Cleveland, the town election of 1803 was held very 
much in the same manner as that of the year before under 
St. Clair and the Territorial Government, and at the same 
place — the residence of James Kingsbury. The record of 
this gathering is tersely given in the ancient township 
book among the archives of Cleveland's city clerk, from 
which quotation has already been made. The record is 
illegible in several places, but enough remains to show 
that in this spring of 1803 " the inhabitants of the Town 



n8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

of Cleaveland met at the house of James Kingsbury, Esq., 
for a township meeting, and proceed and chose, 

" Amos Spafford, Esq., Chairman. 

" Nathl. Doan, Town Clerk. 

" Amos Spafford, Esq., James Kingsbury, Esq., and 
Timothy Doan, Trustees. 

" James Kingsbury, Esq., and James Hamilton, Over- 
seers of the Poor. 

" Rodolphus Edwards and Ezekiel Hawley and Amos 
Spafford, Esq., Fence Viewers. 

" Elijah Gun and Samuel Huntington, Esq., Apprais- 
ers of Houses. 

" James Kingsbury, Esq., Lister. 

il Wm. Elivin, James Kingsbury, Esq., and Timothy 
Doan, Supervisors of Highways. 

" Rodolphus Edwards, Constable." 

In the June following, the electors again met at the res- 
idence of James Kingsbury, for the purpose of choosing 
two justices of the peace. Samuel Jones acted as chair- 
man ; Amos Spafford and Timothy Doan were elected to 
the offices named. The next entry upon this record is as 
follows : 

' ' The qualified voters of the township of Cleaveland 
met at the house of James Kingsbury, Esq., the eleventh 
day of October, one thousand eight hundred and three, 
to elect one senator and two representatives to the Assem- 
bly. When met, proceeded and appointed James Kings- 
bury, Esq., Timothy Doan, Esq., andNath. Doan judges, 
and Rodolphus Edwards and Stephen Gilbert clerks of the 
election, and after being qualified received the votes, and 
by examining them found that Benjamin Tappan had 
seventy-one votes for senator. David Abbott seventy- 
two for representative to the Assembly ; Ephraim Quim- 
by nineteen votes for representative to the Assembly, 
Amos Spafford one vote for senator and one for repre- 
sentative to the Assembly, and David Hudson one vote for 
representative to the Assembly, which may appear_by the 
Poll Book in this office." 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. n 9 

There was an accession to the commercial interests of 
the city in 1804, when Oliver Culver, who had been here 
previously as a surveyor, arrived with a boat-load of dry 
goods, groceries, liquors, etc., and opened a store. He 
had loaded at Black Rock, and had paid three dollars per 
barrel for transportation. For some reason his stay was 
brief, and the next year saw him settled upon a farm in 
New York. The main business interests of the settle- 
ment had been for some time in the hands of David Bry- 
ant, whose commodity was of a liquid nature ; David Clark 
and Elisha Norton, who carried on trade with the In- 
dians; and Alexander Campbell, a Scotchman who built 
a trading house and devoted himself to the same line of 
business. " This little cluster of cabins around the dis- 
tillery, ' ' says one authority, 87 "under the hill, formeda con- 
stant attraction for both Indians and squaws, especially at 
the time of their annual return from their hunting ex- 
peditions up the river. The squaws bought the gaudiest 
calicos they could find, and scarfs of the brightest hues, 
and were not averse while trading to exchanging glances 
with the traders, who were great men because they had 
so much calico. The warriors, more simple in their de- 
sires, bought whisky." These Indian neighbors, upon 
the whole, seemed to have been moderately well behaved, 
there being but little upon the record which shows the 
contrary. The killing of Menompsy, already noted, and 
the crime for which O'Mic was executed at a later day, 
were so exceptional in their character as to stand out as 
marked exceptions. 

In those days, when the danger of Indian attack was 
always present, and the relations of the United States 
with the British neighbor across the lakes were not always 
of an amicable nature, it was natural that military affairs 
should receive some attention. In 1804, a serious attempt 
was made to properly organize the militia, and on April 
6th [Major General Wadsworth issued an order dividing 
his district into two brigade districts, the second of which 

87 ' ' History of Cuyahoga County, ' ' compiled by Crisfield Johnson, p. 49. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



embraced Trumbull County. This was subdivided into 
two regimental districts, in one of which was found all of 
the present Cuyahoga County east of the river, and other 
adjacent territory; containing eight company districts, 
the fourth of which comprised the civil township of 
Cleveland. 

In the same order the companies were directed to hold 
elections on the second day of the May following, when 
each was to choose its own officers. In accordance there- 
with/ ' the qualified electors of the fourth company dis- 
trict, in the second brigade, of the fourth division of the 
Ohio Militia," met " at the house — of James Kingsbury," 
of course ; the people about Cleveland had come to look 
upon that hospitable cabin as headquarters for all such 
gatherings. 

There was trouble on this occasion. The redoubtable 
Lorenzo Carter was elected captain ; Nathaniel Doan, lieu- 
tenant, and Samuel Jones, ensign, all of which is duly 
attested in a report 88 to General Wadsworth, by James 
Kingsbury, Nathaniel Doan and Benjamin Gold, judges 
of election. The opposition expressed themselves in a 
somewhat formidable document, addressed to the same 
high military authority. There were eight signers, 
among whom we find our old acquaintances, Messrs. Spaf- 
ford, Edwards, Williams and Hamilton. They declare 
that the proceedings were illegal and improper, in that 
persons under the age of eighteen were permitted to vote ; 
that some not liable to military duty were also allowed to 
vote; in admitting others who did not " belong to the 
town;" by not comparing the votes with the poll book at 
the close of the election. Then comes the most surpris- 
ing charge of all : " We also consider the man who is re- 
turned as chosen captain ineligible to the office. Firstly. 
By giving spirituous liquors to the voters previous to the 
election. Secondly. On account of having frequently tJireat- 

88 The writer of this document, whoever he may have been, was more 
certain of his facts than of his orthography. We learn that ' ' Loranzo ' ' 
Carter was elected, a choice was " maid" of three judges, and that all 
this occurred in Cleveland, " Trumble " County. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 









ened to set the savages against the inhabitants. All which 
charges we consider proveable, and able to be substan- 
tiated by good and sufficient witnesses. We, therefore, 
beg leave to request that the appointment of officers in 
the township of Cleveland may be set aside, and the said 
company led to a new choice. 
(Signed) 

" Thadeus Lacey. William W. Williams. 

" Rodolphus Edwards. Amos Spafford. 

11 Joel Thorp. Robert Carr. 

" James Hamilton. Abner Cochran." 

General Wads worth may have investigated these 
charges, but there is nothing to show that he did. There 
was certainly nothing done toward a new election, and 
Captain Carter held the command to which he had been 
elected until the succeeding August, when he was elected 
to the office of major in the State militia. Viewing the 
charges against him in the calm light of this later day, 
and from what is known of the man, we must set down 
the second charge as the hasty and ill-considered action 
of disappointed men. That Major Carter may have been 
a little free among the electors with the products of the 
still across the way — he was an ambitious man, and those 
were convivial days — we do not doubt; if the objectors 
had drank and voted upon the same side that day, we 
should have heard nothing upon that point. But that 
Lorenzo Carter ever, for a moment, held an idea of acting 
the part of Simon Girty — of inciting the red man to deeds 
of violence against the white, we cannot for a moment 
believe. Just what action or ill-considered word may 
have laid the foundation for this charge, is not known; 
that it was more than a misunderstanding, those who have 
followed the career of Carter will not for a moment believe. 

In the town meeting of April, 1804, — still referring to 
that early book of record — it is noted that a " town tax " 
of ten dollars was ordered; and under date of April 14th 
occurs this entry : ' ' The trustees of the township of Cleve- 
land met at Nathl. Doan's and divided the township into 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



districts for the several supervisors, in the following man- 
ner : To Lorenzo Carter the road leading- from the City of 
Cleveland to Hudson, to Daniel Ruker's; and the road 
leading from sd. city to Euclid to the bridge near [illeg- 
ible] Tillotson ; and to Timothy Doan the road from Isaac 
Tillotson's to the east line of the town of Euclid; and to 
James Kingsbury the road leading from Nathl. Doan's to 
Williams' Mills; and to Thadeus Lacy the road from 
Daniel Ruker's leading to Hudson, to the south line of 
the Town of Cleaveland." 



CHAPTER VI 



THE COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA. 



It had become recognized, even before this time, by 
those holding titles to lands in the Reserve west of the 
Cuyahoga, that a time had come for the formal and final 
extinguishment of the remaining Indian claims. The 
holdings of the Connecticut Land Company and of those 
owning the Fire Lands were alike in this respect. Nego- 
tiations looking to the desired end were opened, and an 
agreement made that a council should be held in Cleve- 
land. The Indians to the west of the river were not only 
asked to be present, but also 
those in New York, who still 
claimed rights under old agree- 
ments. 

These latter sent a deputa- 
tion of some thirty braves, who 
duly reached Cleveland in 
June, 1805, accompanied by 
Jasper Parish, their interpreter. 
The negotiations were to be 
conducted under the friendly su- 
pervision of the general Govern- 
ment, which was represented 
by Col. Charles Jewet, while 
Gen. Henry Champion looked after the interests of the Con- 
necticut Land Company, and I. Mills those of the Fire 
Lands Company. All hands were prompt in their attend- 
ance, except the western Indians, who failed to put in an 
appearance. This action is said to have been due to the in- 
fluence of certain parties at Detroit and elsewhere, who had 
been endeavoring to obtain rights to the lands in question. 89 

89 Burton's " A Chapter in the History of Cleveland," p. 21. 




JUDGE JOHN BARR. 



124 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

As in the case of Mahomet and the mountain, the com- 
missioners decided to forego any question of dignity, and 
go to the Indians who would not come to them. After a 
day or so of waiting in Cleveland, all parties took up their 
march to the westward. The council was formally opened, 
some say at the Ogontz place, near Sandusky, others 
at Fort Industry on the Maumee. Among the tribes rep- 
resented were the Wyandots, Ottawas, Chippewas, Mun- 
sees, Delawares, Shawnees, and Pottawattomies. After 
some negotiation, the Indians, on July 4th, surrendered 
all title to lands on the Reserve. A writer of that day 
says: " It is said by those who attended this treaty, that 
the Indians in parting with and making sale of the above 
lands to the whites did so with much reluctance, and 
after the treaty was signed, many of them wept. On the 
day that the treaty was brought to a close, the specie, in 
payment of the purchase money, arrived on the treaty 
ground. The specie came from Pittsburg, and was con- 
veyed by the way of Warren, Cleveland and the lake 
shore to the place where wanted. The treasure was en- 
trusted to the care of Lyman Potter, Esq., of Warren, who 
was attended by the following persons as an escort : Josiah 
W. Brown, John Lane, James Staunton, Jonathan Church, 
Lorenzo Carter, and another person by the name of Clark, 
all resolute men and well armed. The money, and other 
property, as presents to the Indians, was distributed to 
them the next day after the signing of the treaty. The 
evening of the last day of the treaty, a barrel of whisky 
was dealt out to the Indians. The consequent results of 
such a proceeding were all experienced at that time." 90 

This attempt at holding the council in Cleveland gave 
occasion for yet another prophecy concerning the city 
that has been fulfilled. Prof. Kirtland, in a lecture de- 
livered at the opening of a term in the Cleveland Medical 
College some years since, related the following incident, 

90 These facts are taken from the statement of Abraham Tappen, of 
Unionville, Ashtabula County, Ohio. — Whittlesey's " Early History of 
Cleveland," p. 403. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 123 

which occurred before the movement towards the actual 
council grounds was commenced : ' ' While waiting their 
tardy movements, the company collected one afternoon on 
the bank of the lake, near the present location of the light- 
house, and were observing the descent of the sun, into the 
broad expanse of waters at the west. The gorgeous dis- 
plays of light and shade, heightened by the brilliant reflec- 
tions from the lake, unsurpassed by the brightest scenes 
ever exhibited by Italy's boasted skies, served, in connec- 
tion with concurring circumstances, to add interest to 
the occasion. One of the company, the Hon. Gideon 
Granger [postmaster-general of the United States], distin- 
guished for talents, enterprise and forethought, uttered, 
to his astonished associates, this bold, and what was then 
deemed, extraordinary prediction : ' Within fifty years, an 
extensive city will occupy these grounds, and vessels will 
sail directly from this port into the Atlantic Ocean.' 91 
A prophecy so specific and decided, coming from such 
a source, though received with a share of skepticism on 
the part of some, made a deep impression on the great 
body of his hearers." 

A letter dated ' ' On board the sloop ' Contractor, ' near 
Black River, July 7, 1805," directed to "TheHon'l. Sam'l. 
Huntington, at the mills near Cleaveland," and signed by 
Wm. Dean, throws some light on the treaty, as follows : 
4i On the 4th instant, we closed a treaty with the Indians, 
for the unextinguished part of the Connecticut Reserve, 
and on account of the United States ; for all the lands south 
of it, to the west line. Mr. Phelps and myself pay about 
$7,000 in cash, and about $12,000 in six yearly payments, 
of $2,000 each. The government pays $13,760, that is 
the annual interest, to the Wyandots, Delawares, Mun- 

91 Near the middle of the present century, when Cleveland was at the 
semi-centennial mark, a schooner called the " Dean," built by Quayle & 
Martin, of Cleveland, was loaded at Chicago, and sent straight into the 
Atlantic by way of the lakes, the Welland Canal, and the St. Lawrence 
River. It reached Liverpool in safety, and was there sold. In 1858, a 
fleet was sent from Cleveland, loaded with staves and lumber. Six ves- 
sels returned in good shape, with cargoes of iron, salt and crockery ware. 



126 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

sees, and to those Senecas on the land forever. The ex- 
pense of the treaty will be about $5,000, including rum, 
tobacco, bread, meat, presents, expenses of the seraglio, 
the commissioners, agents and contractors." 

A proposition was made in the month following by 
Abraham Tappen and A. Sessions (one account says 
Amos, one Anson, and one Aaron) to survey this land, 
and lay it off into townships. The same was accepted, 
and work commenced and pushed forward with vigor. 
Five hundred thousand acres were to be measured off on 
the western end of the Reserve for the Fire Lands Com- 
pany, and the balance to the Cuyahoga came under the 
contract made by Tappen and Sessions. They met at 
Cleveland on May 15th, 1806, with their men, chain-car- 
riers, and pack-horses, and soon entered upon the work, 
which was successfully pushed to completion. 

It will be seen from these increasing references to 
Cleveland that the settlement upon the Cuyahoga was be- 
coming a place large enough to be recognized by the 
world at large. Some events of local importance were 
placed upon its record in this year, 1805. In May occurred 
the usual military election, when Nathaniel Doan was 
chosen captain ; Samuel Jones ' ' leuf tenant ;" and Sylvanus 
Burk, ensign. A son of Major Carter, eleven years of 
age, was drowned at the mouth of the river; Samuel 
Dodge, who had wedded a daughter of Timothy Doan, 
built himself a log-cabin on the Euclid road, and dug 
what is said to have been the first well in Cleveland — 
walled up with stones which the Indians had brought into 
the neighborhood to use as backs to their wigwam fire- 
places ; at the fall election , twenty-nine votes were cast 
for State Representative, of which all but two were for 
James Kingsbury — and the poll-book was rejected be- 
cause the certificate to the oaths of the clerks and judges 
was not attached, nor were the signatures of the judges 
of election. We also find the first mention of the ap- 
pointment of jurymen. At a meeting of the township 
trustees in March, Augustus Gilbert and Eliphas Norton 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 127 



were named as grand jurymen; and David Dilly, David 
Clark and Samuel Dodge to serve as " trabes juries," as 
the record-book expresses it. The youthful John Doan 
was sent from " the Corners " to school over in New- 
burg, and afterward confessed plaintively that " the 
wolves howled around the house where I boarded, and I 
became very homesick. I believe that a daughter of 
'Squire SparTord was our teacher. There were some 
twenty-five children attended, and there were not enough, 
books in the whole community to give each of us an 
outfit. Afterwards a school was started below us, but I 
never had much chance in it. It held only three months 
in the winter and three in the summer, but the boys were 
kept so busy hoeing corn and picking up brush that they 
did not get much of a chance at the summer term." On 
the 1 6th of June occurred a total eclipse of the sun, which, 
the Indians of the neighborhood construed into an expres- 
sion of displeasure on the part of the Great Spirit, with 
their having sold to the white men the homes and lands of 
their fathers. The death of David Clark is noted; and it 
was during this year that the schooner " Washington," 
which was one of the first clearances from the port of the 
Cuyahoga, sailed into the lake with crew and cargo, and 
was never heard of again. Judge Kingsbury put up the 
frame of a house, and not obtaining the lumber from the 
mills at Newburg, erected a mill of his own, and in the 
year following completed the structure, making, also, the 
brick for his own chimney. 92 

In October, the village became the possessor of a post- 
office of its own, and Elisha Norton was appointed post- 
master. As early as 1801 the mail was brought to War- 

9 - " His son still possesses the last brick made, marked with the date, 
June 22, 1S07. The house was a large, two-story frame, and is still stand- 
ing in good repair, occupied by a son, James Kingsbury, then unborn, but 
now an aged man. It is probably the oldest building standing within the 
limits of the city. Part of the upper story was finished off in a large room, 
in which dances were held, and also Masonic communications, the Judge 
being a zealous member of the mystic order." — "History of Cuyahoga 
County," compiled by Crisfield Johnson, 1879, p. 213. 



i2S THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

ren, the seat of Trumbull County, once in two weeks, by 
way of Pittsburg, Canfield and Youngstown, and that 
was the terminus of the mail route for a couple of years, 
before it came on to Cleveland. The route from Warren 
was by way of Deerfield, Ravenna and Hudson, and from 
Cleveland to Detroit along the old Indian trail to San- 
dusky, Toledo, and so on to Detroit; from Cleveland it 
went back to Warren via Painesville and Jefferson. A 
collection district for the south shore of the lake was 
also established this year, called the " District of Erie," 
and John Walworth, of Painesville, was appointed 
collector. 

Postmaster Norton soon relinquished the cares of office 
and removed to Portage County, and Mr. Walworth be- 
came his successor. 93 This useful man and prominent 
pioneer was born in Connecticut, in 1765, and in 1800 
came to Ohio, and purchased a farm, at the mouth of 
Grand River, four miles north of Painesville. Being of 
education, sound judgment and good address, he soon 
found himself one of the leading spirits of the community. 
He held several offices, and upon his appointment as col- 
lector, decided to remove to Cleveland. He disposed of 
his interests on the Grand River, and soon after made a 
purchase of a farm of three hundred acres, between 
Huron, Erie and Cross streets, of the later day, and the 
Cuyahoga River. He brought his family here in 1806, 
and made the city his home for the remainder of his life, 
which ended in 18 12, in the very darkest days of the war. 
One of his daughters, afterward the wife of Dr. David 
Long, and the mother of Mrs. Mary H. Severance, has 
left a record 94 of that trip, in which she says: " My 
father, John Walworth, moved from Cleveland to Paines- 
ville in April, 1806. We came up in an open boat, which 
was wrecked, and my father came near being drowned. 

93 A list of the subsequent postmasters of Cleveland, with some interest- 
ing statistics showing the immense volume of business now handled, will 
be found in a later portion of this work. 

94 " A Pioneer Father and Son," — " Magazine of Western History," 
Vol. III., p. 662. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. isg 

He was so weak when he came out of the water that he 
could barely crawl on his hands and knees." 

His commission of postmaster, signed by Gideon 
Granger, postmaster-general, was issued on October 22, 
1805. In addition to his offices of postmaster and collect- 
or, President Jefferson also appointed him " inspector of 
revenue for the port of Cuyahoga;" and in 1806 Governor 
Tiffin made him associate judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas of Geauga County, to hold for seven years, " if he 
shall so long behave well." Col. Whittlesey says: 
" Judge Walworth at first occupied the upper part of a 
frame building on the north side of Superior street, near 
Water street. When his family moved from this building 
to their house on the Walworth farm, Pittsburg street, a 
small frame office was erected south of Superior street, 
where the American House now stands. During Judge 
Walworth's life, this office contained the combined author- 
ity of the City, the County and the Federal governments. 
Mr. Kelley states that, in 18 10, Mr. Walworth was re- 
corder, clerk of the Common Pleas and Supreme Court, 
postmaster, and collector of the Cuyahoga district. The 
same office accommodated Mr. Kelley, the only attorney 
in the place, and Dr. Long, the only physician. During 
the first quarter of 1806 the receipts of the post-office 
amounted to two dollars and eighty-three cents. His first 
clearance (as collector) was issued to the schooner ' Good 
Intent,' which was soon after lost on Long Point, together 
with cargo and crew." 

Judge Walworth was public-spirited in many ways, and 
willinodv en^a^ed in any measure that had in view the 
advancement of the interests of his chosen home. When 
the scheme was originated, in 1807, for the improvement 
of the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers, so as to give bet- 
ter connection between Lake Erie and the Ohio River, 
he was one of the leaders therein, and made agent and a 
member of the board of commissioners that had it in 
charge. Although he held several offices at once, the 
amount of business in each was so small that he was not 



jjo THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

compelled to neglect any of them. His report to the gov- 
ernment for the season running from April to October, 
1809, shows that the total value of goods, wares and 
merchandise exported from this country to Canada was 
but fifty dollars. On the organization of Cuyahoga 
County he was made clerk of the court, and also recorder ; 
he was one of the founders of the first Masonic lodge in 
Northern Ohio, organized in Warren, in 1803, and one of 
its officers ; and also one of the founders of the institution 
out of which grew the Western Reserve College. As if 
these labors were not enough, we hear him enumerating 
still others, in a letter under date of August 27, 1809, 
where he says: " The revenue and post-office afford a 
considerable business, and in addition to that I store and 
sell salt on commission and have the agency of consider- 
able land, which causes me short journeys frequently." 

The appearance of Cleveland proper, as seen by Judge 
Walworth on his arrival, has not been described, but an- 
other visitor 96 in that year has left his impressions : " I 
first visited Cleveland, that part now called Newburg, in 
August, 1806, a boy of sixteen and a half years, and spent 
some ten days in the family of W. W. Williams. • 
We attended meetings in a log barn at Doan's Corners 
once or twice, to hear the announcement of a new sect, 
by one Daniel Parker, who preached what he called Hal- 
cyonism — since, I believe, it has become extinct. We 
bathed together under the fall of Mill Creek, gathered 
cranberries in the marshes westward of the Edwards's 
place, and danced to the music of Major Samuel Jones' 
violin at his house, afterward the residence of my old 
friend, Captain Allen Gaylord. Judge Huntington, after- 
wards governor, lived then, I believe, at the place after- 
wards occupied by Dexter or Erastus Miles. Newburg 
street was opened previously, from the mill north to 
Doan's Corners, and was then lined with cultivated fields 
on both sides, nearly the whole distance from Judge 

95 Letter from John Harmon, of Ravenna, dated June 11, 1S60. — Whit- 
tlesey's " Early History of Cleveland," p. 42S. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 131 

Kingsbury's to the mill. But much dead timber re- 
mained on the fields. There were some orchards of apple 
trees on some of the farms, and Judge Kingsbury's 
orchard bore a few apples that season, which was probably 
the first season of bearing. The Judge had a small 
nursery of apple trees, and there was a larger nursery of 
smaller trees on Mr. Williams' place." 

Among the arrivals in Cleveland this year can be 
counted the family of Nathan Perry. He was born in 
Connecticut in 1760, but removed to western New York, 
where he built several mills and cultivated a large farm. 
He came to Ohio as early as 1796, but did not bring his 
family until 1806. He bought one thousand acres of land, 
in what is now known as Lake County, at fifty cents per 
acre. He also became the owner of five acres in Cleve- 
land, between Superior and St. Clair and Water and Bank 
streets, and also the tract of land near the intersection of 
Broadway and Perry street, afterward known as the 
Horace Perry farm. A further investment was made by 
him at Black River. On the organization of Cuyahoga 
County, in 1809, he was appointed one of the court 
judges, and in 181 3 his life labors ended. 

On the removal of Judge Perry to the west, his son 
Nathan, then a mere boy, was placed for a time in the 
camp of the great chief, Red Jacket, where he learned the 
Indian language, and much else that gave him great in- 
fluence with, the red men in later years. In 1804, he com- 
menced life on his own responsibility, establishing a 
trading station at Black River, thirty miles west of Cleve- 
land. He purchased furs, and other products of the 
chase, selling to the Indians in exchange such goods as 
they needed, or, as approaching civilization had taught 
them to want. In 1808, he decided to make Cleveland his 
headquarters, and in a short time assumed a leading posi- 
tion as one of her pioneer merchants. He erected a com- 
bined store and dwelling, after the manner of the day, on 
the corner of Superior and Water streets, where the Na- 
tional Bank building now stands. In a few years a brick 



ij2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



store and dwelling replaced the old structure, and was 
long one of the landmarks of early Cleveland. He gave 
his life to business, and had neither time nor inclination 
for the duties of public life. In the early days of the vil- 
lage charter he was made trustee, but returned to private 
life as soon as possible, and would accept no office there- 
after. His later years were passed in ease and comfort, 
and he died on June 24th, 1865, leaving one daughter, 
the wife of Hon. Henry B. Payne. 

A story somewhat illustrative of the characteristics of 
Lorenzo Carter, hunter, militiaman, tavern-keeper and 
all-around pioneer, is told 96 as happening in the year 
1806, and as possessing one element that did not enter 
into all the anecdotes told in early days of the redoubtable 
Major — that of truth. In the spring, a canoe in which 
were a white man, his wife and several children and one 
colored man, was coming down the lake, and was upset. 
All were drowned except the black man, who held to a 
tree upon the bank until rescued in a half-frozen condi- 
tion. He was taken to Carter's, and cared for during the 
summer, although so used-up from the exposure as to be 
of little service to anybody. In the fall two Kentuckians 
rode into Cleveland and claimed the colored man, Ben, 
as a slave, who had been enticed away. All they asked 
was an interview, agreeing that he should not be taken 
away unless he consented to go willingly. 

Major Carter expressed his opinion briefly and to the 
point. He did not care much for colored men, and had 
even less liking for the institution of slavery. 

One thing was certain, however. If Ben did not wish 
to meet the gentlemen from Kentucky, meet them he 
should not. 

" Finally," says Mr. Walworth, " it was agreed that 
the owner and Ben should see each other, near enough to 
converse. Ben was to stand on the west side of the river, 
the owner to be on the east side, near the end of Huron 

9li " Lorenzo Carter, " by Ashbel W. Walworth. "Whittlesey's Early 
History of Cleveland," p. 339. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 



street. Many inquiries and answers passed, but the con- 
versation was marked by good feeling on both sides. ' ' 
Ben agreed to go back to Kentucky. " It would seem 
that the Major showed no dissatisfaction to Ben's going 
with his master; but two white men, one called John 
Thompson and the other Jas. Geer, hangers-on at the 
Major's tavern, preceded, or followed and passed the 
Kentuckians ; for when they had got about three miles 
from Xewburg Mills (then called Cleveland Mills), on 
the old ' Carter road,' they appeared, one on each side of 
the road, each with a rifle ; and as the Kentuckians and 
Ben were passing, Ben still mounted, one of the men says, 
' Ben, you d — d fool, jump off of that horse and take to the 
woods.' Ben obeyed, the hunters also ran, and it may be 
supposed, though not known, that the Kentuckians Avere 
somewhat astonished. However, they never returned to 
tell of their bad luck." The escaped slave camped 
out in the woods for awhile, and then disappeared, proba- 
bly across to Canada. 

Another incident, which occurred near the same time, 
and caused widespread excitement during a portion of 
1807, came near to causing a more serious collision be- 
tween the whites and the Indians than any yet occurring 
in that section. Daniel Diver, of Hudson, was killed in 
the early winter by an Indian, named John MohaAvk. 
Tavo Avhite men named Williams and DarroAv set out upon 
a mission of reA^enge, and not finding MohaAA'k, killed an- 
other Indian named Nicksau or NickshaAv. When this 
wanton murder of an innocent man became knoAvn to the 
Senecas, to Avhose tribe he belonged, there AA^as great ex- 
citement. The Avhites demanded MohaAvk for punish- 
ment ; the red men quite naturally asked that DarroAv and 
Williams should also be punished. The great chief 
Seneca or StigAvanish {Standing Stone) very aptly stated 
the case Avhen he declared " that the same measure of 
justice should be dealt out to Indians and Avhite men." 
In this case both sides Avere treated alike. No one Avas 
arrested, and both crimes Avent unpunished. 



i 34 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

The fifth and last division of the Reserve lands was 
made on January 5th, 1807, the drawing occurring at 
Hartford, Conn. The survey of Brooklyn, across the river 
from Cleveland, was also made, the lots being placed 
upon the market for sale. 

A grand scheme of internal improvement came into 
being in the same year, and made some headway, 
although its object was in no sense accomplished. It 
was a season when improved methods of travel were 
being quite earnestly discussed in the east, and as rail- 
roads in their present methods of locomotion were un- 
dreamed of, the canal and the natural water course conse- 
quently received great attention. A proposition had been 
made in the New York Legislature for the survey of a 
canal route between Lake Erie and the Hudson River, 
and this was followed by a movement in Ohio for the im- 
provement of the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers, as 
natural channels of communication between Lake Erie 
and the Ohio. The plan proposed was the clearing of 
both streams of all obstructions, and the deepening of the 
channels where necessary. The portage path, connecting 
the two at their nearest points, was to be made passable 
for loaded wagons. Goods were to be carried up the 
Cuyahoga, sent across from Old Portage to New Portage 
on the Tuscarawas, and then on down to the Ohio, by 
way of the Muskingum. 

It was thought that the whole plan could be carried 
out at an expense of twelve thousand dollars. The State 
Legislature was appealed to, and readily gave its sanction 
to the scheme ; not by taking the money from the State 
Treasury or raising it by taxation, but by granting per- 
mission for a lottery, by which questionable method the 
needed funds were to be raised. 

The plan, however, was a good one as viewed by the 
public opinion of the times. The best men of Cleveland 
were interested in its success, as shown by the board of 
commissioners having it in charge, who were: Samuel 
Huntington, Amos Spafford, John Walworth, Lorenzo 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 35 

Carter, James Kingsbury, Turhand Kirtland, Timothy 
Doan, Bezaleel Wells, Jonathan Cass, Seth Adams, Zac- 
cheus A. Beatty and John Shorb. It was known as the 
:< Cuyahoga and Muskingum Navigation Lottery," for 
" improving the navigation between Lake Erie and the 
river Ohio through the Cuyahoga and Muskingum. ' ' The 
scheme was set forth by the commissioners as follows : 

First Class. 

12, Soo tickets at $5 each $64,000. 

1 Prize of S5,ooois $5,000 

2,500 " 5,000 



2 

5 

10 

50 

100 



1,000 5,000 

500 " 5,000 

100 " 5,000 

50 " 5,000 



3,400 10 34,000 



3,563 $64,000 

"Prizes subject to a deduction of twelve and a half 
per cent. The drawing of the First Class will commence 
at Cleveland on the first Monday of January, 1808, or as 
soon as three-fourths of the Tickets shall be sold; and 
the Prizes will be paid in sixty days after the drawing is 
completed." 

This was to be no local affair. It was announced that 
payment of prizes would be made in Boston, Hartford, 
New York and Albany; and also in Zanesville and Steu- 
ben ville, Ohio. John Walworth was appointed agent for 
the signing of the tickets. " The subscribers," say the 
commissioners, " have taken the Oath and given the 
Bonds required by Law, for the faithful discharge of their 
trust, and they flatter themselves that an object of such 
extensive importance will not fail to attract the attention 
and patronage of many, who are not allured by the ad- 
vantageous prospects held out in the Scheme." 

The waterway to the Ohio was compelled to remain 
in its unimproved condition, despite the pleasant expecta- 
tions of the worthy gentlemen having; the lottery in 
charge. The public did not purchase tickets as readily 
as had been expected, and in all probability not more than 
one-fourth of those offered for sale were taken. The day 



ij6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

of drawing was postponed from time to time, and finally 
declared off altogether ; the money returned to those who 
had paid it in, and the " scheme " abandoned. 

Two personal views we have of Cleveland in this year 
1807, one of them quite brief. The Rev. Dr. S. A. Bron- 
son, of Mansfield, told the early settlers on the Cuyahoga, 
some years ago, a little story 97 of emigration to the 
west. "At length," said he, "we reached the Cuyahoga. 
This was then the western boundary of civilization. No 
team; no white woman but Canadian French, had as yet 
crossed this river. Our destination was Columbia. The 
township had been surveyed the previous summer, and 
some logs had been rolled up, but yQur speaker was the 
first baby, his mother the first American woman, and 
ours the first team, that crossed the Cuyahoga at Cleve- 
land." The other view is furnished by Thomas D. 
Webb, of Warren, who said: " I first saw Cleveland 
in October, 1807. I put up for a day or two with Major 
Amos Spafford, who kept a tavern. Governor Hunting- 
ton then lived in a log-house, standing a little south of 
Superior street, not far from the site of the American 
House. He had a frame barn, in size thirty feet by for- 
ty, near by. All the families on the city or ten-acre lots, 
or the lands adjoining, at that time, that I recollect, and 

I think that I recollect all, were, Amos Spafford, 

Gilbert, Nathan Perry, Lorenzo Carter, Samuel Hunting- 
ton, John Walworth, 2nd an Irish family I have forgot- 
ten. Samuel Dodge had lived on a ten-acre lot, but had 
at that time taken up his residence at Euclid ; other fami- 
lies had resided there also, but at the time I arrived, had 
removed. There were the remains of some two or three 
buildings along the bank of the river, one of which I was 
told had been occupied as a store by a Scotchman, by the 
name of Alex. Campbell." 

The little village had been without a blacksmith since 
Nathaniel Doan had moved out to the east, and the want 
was supplied in the person of Abram Hickox, whose 

97 " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 10, p. 347. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



'37 



arrival is set down as in 1808, 98 and who soon became a 
local celebrity in his way. He located on the north side 
of Superior street, where the Johnson House was after- 
wards erected; is said to have had a shop at one time 
south of Superior, near Seneca street ; and afterwards 
built a small smithy at the corner of Euclid avenue and 
Hickox street, which was named in his honor. Over his 
door for years was the terse notification : ' Uncle Abram 
works here," and beneath it 
— for good luck, perhaps — 
the print of a horseshoe burned 
into the wood. " Uncle 
Abram," writes one " who 
knew him well, ' ' was as honest 
as the day is long, and a patriot 
tried and true. He it was who 
on each Fourth of July, at 
early dawn, would arouse the 
sleeping inhabitants with the 
loud and booming report of 
his anvil, which was then the only battery of artillery of 
which Cleveland could boast. And all day long he would 
keep up the fire along the line. The old man on one oc- 
casion met with quite a mishap, caused by the blowing-up 
of his powder magazine, which burned him quite severe- 
ly; but, nothing daunted, he obtained a fresh supply, 
and continued his fusillade. Although it has been many 
long years since ' Uncle Abram ' was laid to rest, me- 
thinks I see him still as he used to appear in his home-spun 
gray suit, wide-rimmed wool hat, steel-bowed specs, and 
stout hickory staff. He died in 1845, a t a very advanced 
age, and his remains now repose in Erie Street Cemetery, 
by the side of his wife, who died several years previous." 
This well-remembered old man was not only the village 
blacksmith, but its sexton as well, and for years super- 

98 Mrs. Long's statement. — " Whittlesey's Early History of Cleveland," 
P- 447- 

99 " Old Time Characters," by O. P. C, in "Annals of the Early Settlers' 
Association," No. 4, p. 46. 




AKRAM HICKOX. 



i 3 8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

vised all arrangements for the burial of the dead. 

A tragedy, that stirred the little community to unwont- 
ed sadness, occurred in April, 1808, when a boat-load of 
people was wrecked between Rocky River and Black 
River, and a number of lives lost. There have been sev- 
eral accounts thereof placed upon record, and probably 
the most correct, as it is certainly the most circum- 
stantial, was written by Q. F. Atkins, an eye-witness to 
much of that which he relates. 1 Briefly stated, the story 
runs as follows: The people of Cleveland and Newburg 
had learned that there was an abundance of ' ' yellow cat- 
fish ' ' in the deep waters of Black River, and fitted out 
a Schenectady boat, or bateau, for a fishing expedition. 
Captain Joseph Plumb was placed in command, and in 
the party were Stephen Gilbert, Adolphus Spafford, a son 
of the Major, William Gilmore, a young man named 
White, two sons of Mr. Plumb, and a woman named 
Mary Billinger, who had been a domestic in the family 
of Nathan Perry, Sr., and was going to Black River, 
where the younger Nathan was then established. 

' ' All hands went on board at Cleveland, ' ' to quote di- 
rect from the narrative, " and rowed the first afternoon, 
as far as Rocky River, where they stopped for the night. 
While there, in overhauling their fishing tackle, they 
found that a portion of the rope belonging to their seine, 
and something else belonging to it, had been left at 
Cleveland. Young White and the two sons of Captain 
Plumb were sent back to Cleveland for the missing ar- 
ticles, confidently expecting to get back in time to get on 
the boat before it left Rocky River. For this purpose 
they made the utmost expedition, not sparing themselves 
at all, lest a long walk from one river to the other, with 
nothing but an Indian trail along the lake shore for their 
guide, should pay for their remissness." 

Upon their return to Rocky River they discovered that 

1 "Loss of an Open Boat," by Q. F. Atkins. — "Annals of Early Set- 
tlers' Association," No. 9, p. 255. The account furnished by Col. Whit- 
tlesey differs from the above in several particulars. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ijg 

the boat was gone. They decided to push ahead, and 
when near Dover Point discovered an empty cask, an 
oar. and some other articles afloat in the water. A little 
further on, they came "to an inward curve of the high, 
rocky bank, where they beheld the wreck of the boat, 
driven in upon a small strip of rock and sand beach, 
with a frowning rock overhanging it, some sixty or seven- 
ty feet high, and no living person save Captain Plumb, 
to tell how the disaster came upon them. All his asso- 
ciates, four in number, were drowned." 

Young White and Captain Plumb's oldest son hastened 
on to Black River for help. The younger son, with a 
courage beyond his years, climbed a sapling upon the 
bank, bent it over the cliff by his weight, and when it 
was as low as it could go, dropped safely down upon the 
sand beside his exhausted father. When the expected 
help arrived, at night, the two were, with no little diffi- 
culty, drawn to the bank in safety. The story of the 
wreck was soon told — a sudden squall had upset the boat, 
about a half mile from the shore, and Captain Plumb 
was the only one permitted to reach a place of safety. 
The bodies of the four Avere afterwards discovered, where 
the waves had cast them upon the beach. 

It was in 1808 that Major Carter inaugurated the ship 
building industry of Cleveland, by constructing the 
" Zephyr, of thirty tons burthen," designed for the lake 
trade. This was followed in 1809 by the launching of 
the " Sally." a schooner of five or six tons, constructed 
by Joel Thorp; and the "Dove," of about the same size, 
built by Alex. Simpson; while in 18 10, Murray & Bixby 
built the ' ' Ohio, ' ' of sixty tons. Other lake vessels noted 
in connection with the early lake marine were the ' ' Cuy- 
ahoga Packet," built at the mouth of the Chagrin River, 
the " Washington," the " Harlequin," the " Good In- 
tent," the lk Tracy," the " Wilkinson," the " Contract- 
or," the " Adams," and also several of Canadian con- 
struction. 

The year 1809 was in some respects an important one 



i 4 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

to Cleveland, not because of any great event which oc- 
curred, but in an incident here and there showing that 
it was gradually losing its pioneer newness, and approach- 
ing the ways of modern villagehood. Thus we see Col- 
lector Walworth forwarding his formal report from the 
port of Cuyahoga to the Treasury Department; and al- 
though the entire value of goods exported to Canada 
reached but fifty dollars from April to October, there 
was enough to show that a beginning had been made. 
A framed building, to be used as an office by the collector- 
postmaster, was erected on Superior street, and was re- 
garded as a novelty with metropolitan suggestions. 

The projection of a road to the westward from the Cuy- 
ahoga, was yet another event pointing in the same direc- 
tion. The State Legislature granted an appropriation 
for the opening of such road from Cleveland to the mouth 
of the Huron River. The work was committed to the hands 
of Lorenzo Carter and Nathaniel Doan, of Cleveland, 
and Ebenezer Murray, of Mentor. The ridge near the 
bank of the lake was naturally selected, and the highway 
thus laid out was known as the Cleveland and Huron, and 
afterwards as the Milan State road; which was later 
changed to the Detroit road, and then to Detroit street. 

A mail route was laid out between Cleveland and De- 
troit. " The mail was carried," says John D. Tay- 
lor, 2 "ina leather satchel by a man on foot; I remem- 
ber him and his name — Edward McCartney — as my fath- 
er had bought land and lived on the lake shore in Dover, 
where he kept a hotel during the war of 1812, and where 
the mail-carrier was accustomed to stop. After the com- 
mencement of the war, the L nited States mail was carried 
on horseback till about 1820, when stage coaches carried 
it until superseded by railroad coaches. In 1809, the 
whole contents of the mail between Cleveland and Detroit 
weighed from five to seven pounds, going at the rate of 
about thirty miles a day." At about the same time 

2 " Pioneer Life in Cuyahoga County," by John D. Taylor. — " Annals 
of the Early Settlers' Association," Xo. 11, p. 435. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 141 

Joseph Burke, of Euclid, held the mail-carrying contract 
to the eastward, the route running from Cleveland to 
Hudson, Ravenna, Deerfield, Warren, Mesopotamia, 
Windsor, Jefferson, Austinburg, Harpersfield, Painesville, 
and thence back to Cleveland. The two sons of the con- 
tractor alternated with each other in covering the route, 
going on horseback in summer when the roads permitted,, 
and on foot the rest of the time. 

In this connection Ave may be permitted to glance 
ahead at the experiences of another mail agent, Asael 
Adams, of Warren (whose school in early Cleveland has 
been already referred to), who carried the mail on horse- 
back during the war of 18 12 and 18 13, two years, from 
Cleveland to Pittsburg. He left Pittsburg every Friday 
at 6:00 a. m. ; arrived at Greersburg by 5 :oo p. m. ; left 
at 5 130 p. m. ; arrived at Canfield on Saturday by 6:00 
p. m. ; left at 7:00 p. m. ; and arrived at Cleveland on 
Monday by 10:00 a. m. Then returning, he left Cleve- 
land every Monday at 2 :oo p. m. ; arrived at Canfield on 
Wednesday by 6:00 a. m. ; left at 7:00 a. m. ; arrived 
at Greersburg the same day by 6:00 p. m. ; left at 7:00 
p. m. ; arrived at Pittsburg on Thursday by 6:00 p. m. 

The only post-offices betiveen Pittsburg and Cleveland, 
at that time, and at which he stopped, were as follows : 
Beavertown, New Lisbon, Canfield, Deerfield, Hartland, 
Ravenna, Hudson and Gallatin ; thence by Aurora, Man- 
tua, Palmyra, Canfield, New Lisbon, Greersburg and 
Beavertown to Pittsburg, once a week. He received as 
salary $i86 3 per quarter of a year during the continuance 

3 The salary above mentioned was not the only good this pioneer mail- 
carrier secured on his travels. At Canfield, Ohio, he gained a wife, in 
the person of Lucy Mygatt, whose father was a merchant and postmaster 
at that point. Mr. Adams established a general store in Warren, in 1S14, 
and became one of the leading merchants of that place. In the early 
days of his mercantile career his goods, purchased in New York City, were 
carried in large wagons over the Alleghany mountains, by the way of 
Pittsburg, to Warren. Money was very scarce, and he sold goods to the 
farmers on one year's time, and received from his customers wheat, deer- 
skins, deer horns, scorched salts, horses, cattle, hogs, sheep and hickory- 
nuts, in payment for dry goods, drugs, groceries and hardware. The 



j 42 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

of his contract, to be paid in drafts on postmasters on the 
route, as above mentioned, or named at the option of the 
Postmaster- General, Gideon Granger. He was also au- 
thorized as contractor to carry newspapers, other than those 
conveyed in the mail, for his own emolument. Often while 
riding one horse, he would lead another, loaded with articles 
for the pioneers from Pittsburg. Dense woods skirted 
both sides of the bad roads almost the whole of the way from 
Pittsburg to Cleveland. Wolves, bears and other wild 
animals roamed through these great forests, and often in 
the dark nights made the lonesome journey of the belated 
mail-carrier exceedingly unpleasant. There were no 
bridges over the rivers and streams, which were often very 
high. He would fasten the mail bag about his shoulders 
and swim his horse over the swollen rivers, often wet to 
the skin, and not a house within several miles distance. 
In the matter of population, Cleveland (in 1809) lost 
one of its older residents, and gained several others who 
were in every sense desirable additions. Amos SpafTord 
was elected a member of the lower house of the State 
Legislature, as a representative from Geauga County, to 
which Cleveland yet belonged. He soon received the 
appointment of collector of the new port of entry estab- 
lished on the Maumee River, and in the spring of the 
year following removed to Perrysburg. 4 

articles, wheat, deer-skins, etc., received by Adams were sent to Pittsburg, 
and sold for cash and goods. The scorched salts were sent in wagons to 
Ashtabula, thence to Buffalo by water, and exchanged for window-glass, 
and the glass brought back by the lake and by wagon to Warren, again 
to be traded to the farmers. A large business for those days was trans- 
acted by exchange, with but very little money in circulation. 

4 ' ' His first return to the Government shows that the amount of exports, 
at the expiration of the first quarter, was three thousand and thirty 
dollars. It consisted of three thousand dollars' worth of coon, bear and 
mink skins, and thirty dollars' worth of bear's oil. Major Spafford cul- 
tivated a piece of land, including Fort Meigs, built several out houses, 
and acquired considerable property here, previous to the war (181 2). He 
was a man very much esteemed by the American and French inhabitants ; 
was, indeed, an adviser and friend to all the early settlers. 
He retained his office of collector until 1818, when he died at his resi- 
dence." — " Whittlesey's Early History of Cleveland," p. 348. 









THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 143 

One of the additions referred to, came in the person of 
Stanley Griswold, who remained about long enough to 
be called an Ohio man, and made eligible to office, and 
then passed on to higher duties. A citizen of Connecti- 
cut, he had been appointed, in 1805, secretary for the 
Territory of Michigan, under Governor Hull, and col- 
lector of the port of Detroit. Because of political com- 
plications, he resigned, and removing to Cleveland, took 
up his residence at Doan's Corners. He was soon drafted 
into the public service, and the township records for 1809 
show his name as clerk, in place of Nathaniel Doan, who 
had served for some years. A vacancy from Ohio occur- 
ring in the United States Senate, Governor Huntington 
appointed Mr. Griswold to fill out the term, and he soon 
left for Washington. 

It was while en route to the National Capital that Sen- 
ator Griswold, in correspondence with a friend, 5 wrote a 
letter that suggests some faith in the future of Cleveland, 
with a thorough understanding of its drawbacks in the 
present. It is in response to an inquiry as to the chances 
for a physician in the infant settlement. " I have con- 
sulted," he says, " the principal characters, particularly 
Judge Walworth, Avho concurs with me, that Cleveland 
would be an excellent place for a young physician, and 
cannot long remain unoccupied. This is based more on 
what the place is expected to be, than what it is. Even 
now a physician of eminence would command great 
practice, from being called to ride over a large country, 
say fifty miles each way. There is now none of emi- 
nent or ordinary character in that extent. But settle- 
ments are scattered, and roads neAv and bad, which 
would make it a painful practice. Within a few Aveeks 
Cleveland has been fixed upon by a committee of. 
the Legislature as the seat of justice for Cuyahoga 
County. SeA^eral respectable characters Avill remove to 
that toAvn. The country around bids fair to increase 

5 In a letter to Hon. James Witherell, under date of Somerset, Pa., 
May 28, 1809. — " Whittlesey's Early History of Cleveland," p. 426. 



144 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



rapidly in population. A young physician of the quali- 
fications described by you will be certain to succeed, 
but for a snort time, if without means, must keep 
school, for which there is a good chance in winter, 
till a piece of ground, bring on a few goods (for which 
it is a good stand), or do something else in connection 
with his practice." 

Another important arrival this year was that of Levi 
Johnson, a native of Herkimer County, N. Y., who was 
about twenty-four years of age when he cast in his 
fortunes with those of Cleveland. His usefulness and 
skill as a builder were seen all about the city, in both 

public and private edifices. 
He constructed for himself a 
log-cabin on the Euclid road 
near the Public Square ; built 
the old log court-house and jail 
combined, on the northwest 
quarter of the Square ; and also 
the gallows on which the Indian, 
O'Mic, was hung. In an ac- 
count of his life, recently pub- 
lished by the association of 
early settlers, we find this brief 
tribute to his public usefulness : 
He built the first frame house 
in Cleveland, for Judge John Walworth, where the 
American House now stands. In 1811, he built the Buck- 
eye House for the father of the now venerable Rodol- 
phus Edwards, on Woodland Hills avenue, and soon 
afterwards several other houses and barns in New- 
burg township. In 18 13 or 18 14, he built the schooner 
" Ladies' Master," near his residence, which was 
hauled to the foot of Superior street by ox-teams of 
the country people, where she was launched. In 18 17, 
he built the schooner " Neptune," on the river, near 
the foot of Eagle street, which was altogether in the 
woods. In 1824, he built the first steamboat constructed in 




LEVI JOHNSON. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



'45 



Cleveland, the " Enterprise," just below the foot of St. 
Clair street. He sailed on the lake till ICS30, and then 
built the old stone lighthouse where the present one now 
stands, and then the lighthouse at Cedar Point, and set 
the buoys marking the ehannel to and in Sandusky Bay ; 
and later he built seventeen hundred feet of the east 
government pier in this city. Cleveland contains many 
other substantial evidences of his enterprise and good 
judgment. He died in 1871. 

One of the most noted additions in the line of citizen- 
ship that early Cleveland ever received was when Alfred 
Kelley appeared upon the scene in 18 10. His mark upon 
the fortunes of Cleveland, and 
the financial legislation of 
Ohio, was broad and deep, 
and to the benefit of every 
measure to which he set his 
hand. He was born in Mid- 
dletown, Conn., on November 
7th, 1789, was educated in 
Fairfield Academy, New York, 
and afterward read law in 
Whitesborough. In the spring 
of 1 8 10, when several months 
short of his majority, he de- 
cided to try life and fortune 
for himself, and set off for the 
far west of Ohio. The journey was made on horseback, and 
he and Dr. Jared P. Kirtland came in company with Joshua 
Stow. He reached Cleveland at an opportune time, as 
Cuyahoga County had just taken its position as a separate 
organization, and its courts had been for the first time con- 
stituted. While Samuel Huntington, who was also a law- 
yer, had preceded Mr. Kelley by some years, he had never 
entered upon practice here, so to all real intent, Mr. 
Kelley was Cleveland's first lawyer of note. He was 
certainly the first to put up his sign in Cuyahoga County. 

In the November term of court, Peter Hitchcock moved 




ALFRED KELLEY 



i 4 6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

that Mr. Kelley be admitted to practice, and his name 
was soon upon the roll. It certainly was an occasion of 
interest to the young man, as it was the twenty-first an- 
niversary of his birth, saw him become a member of a bar, 
to which he afterwards should lend such honor and lus- 
ter, and also gave him his first office, as he was immedi- 
ately made public prosecutor. He held this office until 

1 82 1, when he voluntarily relinquished it; was the first 
president of the incorporated village of Cleveland ; repre- 
sented Cuyahoga County in the General Assembly, and 
remained in that position almost continuously from 1 8 14 to 

1822, when he became one of Ohio's canal commissioners, 
and entered upon the greatest labor of his life. In 1830, 
Mr. Kelley removed to Columbus; served again in the 
Legislature, and as State Fund Commissioner saved the 
State — almost entirely through his own practical ability 
and personal influence — from the stain of repudiation. 
His useful life was ended on December 2nd, 1859. We 
shall see him again and again in the course of this narra- 
tive in connection with the great canal and railroad inter- 
ests that did so much for Cleveland. 

There was a noted addition to the population of Cleve- 
land in the medical line in 1 8 10, almost equal in importance 
to that of the law above mentioned. The suggestions of 
Senator Griswold that there was an opening for an able 
young physician, and that he would have enough of hard 
work, was made good in the case of Dr. David Long, who 
reached here in June of the year above named. He was 
a native of Washington County, N. Y., and had gradu- 
ated in medicine in New York City. He was Cleveland's 
first resident physician, and when he arrived there were no 
physicians nearer than Painesville, Hudson, Wooster and 
Monroe. His practice was extensive, and many illustra- 
tive and entertaining incidents in connection therewith 
might be related : ' ' Dr. Long was a public-spirited man, ' ' 
says his chief biographer, 6 " and interested in whatever 

6 " Pioneer Medicine on the Reserve," by Dudley P. Allen, M. D. 
— " Magazine of Western History," Vol. III., p. 286. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 47 

concerned the welfare of the community. He was a 
successful candidate for the office of county commis- 
sioner at a time when the location of the court-house 
greatly excited the interest of the county. One com- 
missioner favored Xewburg and another Cleveland, 
and the election of Dr. Long determined its location 
in Cleveland. He was engaged in various business enter- 
prises, but a contract for building a section of the canal 
proved to be an unfortunate business venture, though it 
was of great importance to the commercial interests of 
Cleveland. In 1836, Dr. Long removed from Superior 
street to a farm on what is now Woodland avenue, but 
was then called Kinsman street. Here he built first the 
stone house occupied by the late Erastus Gaylord, and 
afterward the house still standing on the corner of Wood- 
land and Long wood avenues, in which house he lived till 
the time of his death, September 1, 185 1, at the age of 
sixty-four years." 

The store of Elias and Harvey Murray became one of 
the local mercantile features of this year (18 10); Major 
Carter built a warehouse on L^nion lane either in this 
year or the one preceding, showing that business was grow- 
ing down in that section of the village ; and Elias Cozad 
built out at Doan's Corners the first tannery operated in 
Cleveland, and this was followed by a like structure 
erected by Samuel and Matthew Williamson, either to- 
ward the end of this year or the opening of 1 8 1 1 . 

The record of 18 10 can be ended well by a summary of 
the steps by which, in this year, Cuyahoga County be- 
came a distinct organization upon its own merits. It will 
be remembered that such part of the present county as 
lies east of the river was, in 1788, made a part of Wash- 
ington County, with the county- seat away down upon 
the Ohio, at Marietta. Such portion of the county as 
lies west of the river, was embraced in the county of 
Wayne, created in 1796, with the seat at Detroit. In 
July, 1797, the portion of the Reserve east of the river 
became a part of Jefferson County, with the county-seat 



i 4 S THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

at Steubenville. When Trumbull County was organized, 
in 1800, it embraced all of the Western Reserve, includ- 
ing the Fire Lands, and the group of Lake Erie islands off 
Sandusky. In 1806, the county of Geauga was set off 
from Trumbull, and included the main portion of the 
present Cuyahoga. Huron County had a legal existence 
in 1809. By an act of the legislature of February 10th, 
1807, Portage, Ashtabula and Cuyahoga were created, 
and under this act the last named was declared to " em- 
brace so much of the county of Geauga as lay west of the 
ninth range of townships." The boundaries were fixed 
as follows : ' ' On the east side of Cuyahoga River, all north 
of town five, and west of range nine ; on the west side of 
the river, all north of town four, and east of range fifteen ; 
a space between ranges fourteen and twenty on the west ; 
and the County of Huron, being attached to Geauga for 
judicial purposes." 

There was an alteration in the line between Cuyahoga 
and Huron Counties in 181 1, and when Medina County 
was created in 18 12, another change in the western bound- 
ary of Cuyahoga was made. When Lorain was organized 
in 1824, there was still another small disturbance along 
the same line. The township of Willoughby, on the 
east, was lost in 1840, when Lake County was created; 
and in 1841 a portion of Orange township was annexed to 
Geauga, and a strip of Russell, in Geauga, was transferred 
to Cuyahoga; but in 1843 the tract taken from Orange 
was restored. 



CHAPTER VII. 

IN THE TIME OF WAR. 

In the letter of Senator Stanley Griswold, previously 
quoted, he states that a committee of the Legislature 7 
had, in 1809, been charged with the duty of locating the 
seat of justice for Cuyahoga County. This commission 
was met by the urgent claims of both Cleveland and 
Newburg, which place last named had a population fully 
as large as her rival, and was regarded as the more health- 
ful location of the two. Cleveland carried the day, not 
so much because of present advantages, as for its pros- 
pects in the future. 

The independent judicial existence of Cuyahoga Coun- 
ty, therefore, commenced in May, 18 10, when the Common 
Pleas Court was organized. Hon. Benjamin Ruggles was 
presiding judge, and Nathan Perry, Sr., Augustus Gilbert, 
and Timothy Doan, associate judges. The first official 
staff of the county elected, or appointed by the judges 
of the court, or otherwise, was as follows : 

Prosecuting Attorney: Peter Hitchcock (of Geauga 
County), appointed in June ; succeeded in November by 
Alfred Kelley. 

Clerk and Recorder : John Walworth. 

Sheriff : Smith S. Baldwin. 

7 Col. Whittlesey (" Early History of Cleveland," p. 368) has preserved 
a copy of the bill presented by one of these commissioners, addressed to 
Abraham Tappan, Esq. : 

" Columbiana County, Ohio, October, 1S09. 
" Deir Sir: — I have called on Mr. Peaies for my Pay for fixing the 
Seat of Justis in the county of Cuyahoga and he informt me that he did 
not Chit it. Sir, I should take it as a favour of you would send it with 
Mister Peaies at your Nixt Cort and In so doing will oblige Your 
humble Sarvent. — R. B... r. 

' ' A Leven Days Two Dollars per day, Twentytwo Dollars. ' ' 



i 5 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

County Commissioners: Jabez Wright, Nathaniel Doan. 

Treasurer: Asa Dille. 

Surveyor: Samuel S. Baldwin. 

The first session of the court was held at the newly- 
erected store of Elias and Harvey Murray on Superior 
street, which had not been occupied. One indictment was 
presented for petit larceny, several for selling foreign 
goods without license, and others for selling whisky to 
the Indians. The session of the succeeding June had to 
deal with three criminal prosecutions and five civil suits. 
There was one case of " trespass on the case for eleven 
hundred white fish of the value of $70, which came into 
the hands of the defendant by ' finding, ' but who refused 
to give them up on demand, and converted them to his 
own use." This suit was laid over until the next term, 
when the plaintiff failed to appear, and it was dismissed. 
The other cases have been thus described: " Alfred Kel- 
ley appears in the second case on the docket, on behalf of 
Ralph M. Pomeroy vs. James Leach. Suit on a note of 
hand dated October 27, 1808, ' at Black Rock, to- wit, at 
Cleveland,' for $80, and in another sum of Si 50. This 
case was continued one term, and then discontinued by 
settlement. And now, in the third case, the famous old 
pioneer, Rodolphus Edwards, was chosen defendant in the 
suit of one John S. Reede. It was an appealed case from 
Justice Erasmus Miles' court, by the plaintiff, the justice 
having decided that the plaintiff had no case against Ed- 
wards. The plaintiff failed to prosecute his appeal, and 
the old pioneer was decreed to * go ' with judgment for 
his costs, $8.54. R. B. Parkman was defendant's attor- 
ney. The fourth case was an action of ejectment for a 
farm in Euclid, in which Alfred Kelley appeared for the 
heirs of Aaron Olmsted, of East Hartford, Conn., vs. 
Richard Fen, and James Lewis, the tenant ; Samuel W. 
Phelps, attorney for defendants." 8 

At the November term, an indictment was presented 

8 F. T. Wallace in " The Bench and Bar of Cleveland," Cleveland, 1889, 
p. 21. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 151 

against one Daniel Miner, for " not having obtained such 
license or permit as the law directs to keep a tavern, or to 
sell, barter or deliver, for money or other article of value, 
any wine, rum, brandy, whisky, spirits or strong drink 
by less quantity less than one quart, did, with intent to 
defraud the revenue of the county, on the 25th of October 
last past, sell, barter and deliver at Cleveland aforesaid, 
wine, rum, brandy, whisky and spirits by less quantity 
than one quart, to-wit, one gill of whisky for the sum of 
six cents in money, contrary to the statute, etc. ' ' To this 
a plea of guilty was entered, and was followed by a fine 
of twenty-five cents. Another indictment against the 
same person was to the effect that with " men and horses, 
with force and arms, ferry over Rocky River, ' ' without a 
license, and for this offense he was fined five dollars and 
a bill for costs. 

In like manner this early court, during its first years of 
existence, saw Ambrose Hecox charged with selling " one- 
half yard of cotton cambric, six yards of Indian cotton 
cloth, one-half pound Hyson skin tea, without license, 
contrary to the statute law regulating ferries, taverns, 
stores, etc ; ' ' Erastus Miles prosecuted for selling liquor 
to the Indians ; Thomas Mcllrath for trading one quart 
of whisky for three raccoon skins; and John S. Reede 
and Banks Finch for engaging in a "fight and box at fisti- 
cuffs." The indictment declared in solemn form that 
" John S. Reede, of Black River, and Banks Finch, of 
Huron township, in said county, on the 1st day of Febru- 
ary, 1 8 12, with force and arms, in the peace of God and 
the State, then and there being, did, then and there with 
each other agree, and in and upon each other did then 
and there assault and with each other did then and there 
wilfully fight and box at fisticuffs, and each other did 
then and there strike, kick, cuff, bite, bruise, wound 
and ill-treat, against the statute and the peace and dig- 
nity of the State of Ohio." 

From May, 18 10, to May, 18 14, one hundred and nine 
civil suits were entered, the greater number of them be- 



if* THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

ing petitions for partition of lands, generally of non-resi- 
dent heirs, living in Connecticut. In 1 8 14, there was a 
conviction for theft, and the offender was sentenced " to 
be taken to the public whipping-post in Cleveland, and 
that he be whipped fifteen stripes on the naked back, 
and be imprisoned in jail ten days and pay a fine of one 
hundred dollars." There is nothing upon the record to 
show that this sentence was carried out. The memories of 
the oldest settlers, some of whom have been recently ques- 
tioned upon this subject, fail to furnish the least light 
upon the question whether or not early Cleveland was 
disgraced by the presence of this remnant of bar- 
barism. 9 

There appears one case against a father for decoying 
his son away before the expiration of his term of appren- 
ticeship ; a suit for slander in 18 12 ; and the first application 
for divorce in 18 16. From 1820 to 1835, but thirty suits 
of this character were commenced, and in a large number 
of cases the differences were composed before the cause 
was called in court. The only lawyers who appear 
of record during the first four years are Thomas D. 
Webb, Alfred Kelley, Robert B. Parkman, Samuel W. 
Phelps, Peter Hitchcock, John S. Edwards and D. 
Redick. 

There was an annual session of the Supreme Court of 
Ohio in the several counties, under the early judicial sys- 
tem, and the first session in Cuyahoga was held in August, 
1 8 10, when "William W. Irwin and Ethan A. Brown organ- 
ized the Court, and- appointed John Walworth clerk. Al- 

9 " But for the judicial record, the ancient colonial institution would 
have had no ' standing ' in court. It does not seem to have developed 
into the dignity of a fascinating legend, or the gravity of a classic 
myth. It is possible, however, that some forehanded individual, whose 
remote ancestors delighted in whipping-posts for witches, who had made 
his fortune as a sutler in the then late war, erected a ' post ' somewhere 
near the log court-house in the Public Square, and donated it to the 
public, as elaborate and artistic drinking fountains are erected and do- 
nated in modern times by benevolent millionaires, whom the public 
thanks and blesses, but never partakes of the beverage." — F. T. Wallace 
in " The Bench and Bar of Cleveland," p. 24. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 153 

fred Kelley was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court. 
The year 181 1 was one of rather humdrum quiet, the 
little town on the Cuyahoga going - on with few changes or 
events worthy of record. A pen-picture of Cleveland, as 
it appeared toward the end of that year or the early part 
of 1 8 12, has been drawn by a careful observer 10 who 
was here at that time, and as it takes the combined form 
of a verbal map and a census, space may be well em- 
ployed for its reproduction. " The following, to the best 
of my recollection," said he, " are the names of men who 
lived in what was then Cleveland, in the fall of 181 1 and 
spring of 18 12. Possibly a few names may be missing. 
I will begin north of the Kingsbury creek, on Broadway: 
The first was Maj. Samuel Jones, on the hill near the 
turn of the road; farther down came Judge John Wal- 
worth, then postmaster, and his oldest son, A. W. Wal- 
worth, and son-in-law, Dr. David Long. Then, on the 
corner where the Forest City House now stands, was a 
Mr. Morey. The next was near the now American House, 
where the little post-office then stood, occupied by Mr. 
Hanchet, who had just started a little store. Close by was 
a tavern, kept by Mr. George Wallace. On the top of the 
hill, north of Main street, Lorenzo Carter and son, Lo- 
renzo, Jr., who kept tavern also. The only house below 
on Water street was owned by Judge Samuel William- 
son, with his family and his brother Matthew, who had 
a tannery on the side hill below. On the corner of Water 
and Superior streets was Nathan Perry's store, and his 
brother, Horace Perry, lived near by. Levi Johnson began 
in Cleveland about that time, likewise two brothers of his, 
w T ho came on soon after; Benjamin, a one-legged man; 
and I think the other's name was John. The first and 
last were lake captains for a time. Abraham Hickox, the 
old blacksmith; Alfred Kelley, Esq., who boarded with 
'Squire Walworth at that time; then a Mr. Bailey, also 
Elias and Harvey Murray, and perhaps a very few others 

10 "Names of Early Settlers "Whom I Knew," by Y. L. Morgan. — 
"" Annals of Early Settlers' Association," No. 3, p. 67. 



i54 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

in town not named. On what is now Euclid avenue, from 
Monumental Square through the woods to East Cleve- 
land, was but one man, Nathan Chapman, who lived in a 
small shanty, with a small clearing around him, and near 
the present Euclid Station. He died soon after. Then 
at what was called Doan's Corners lived two families 
only, Nathaniel, the older, and Maj. Seth Doan. Then 
on the south, noAv Woodland Hills avenue, first came 
Richard Blin, Rodolphus Edwards, and Mr. Stephens, a 
school teacher; Mr. Honey, James_ Kingsbury, David 
Burras, Eben Hosmer, John Wightman7~WiTliam W. 
Williams, and three sons, Frederick, William W., Jr., 
and Joseph. Next, on the Carter place, Philomen Bald- 
win, and four sons, Philomen, Jr., Amos, Caleb and 
Runa. Next, James Hamilton; then Samuel Hamilton 
(who was drowned in the lake), his widow, and three sons,. 
Chester, Justice and Samuel, Jr., in what was called New- 
burg and now Cleveland. Six by the name of Miles — 
Erastus, Theodore, Charles, Samuel, Thompson, and 
Daniel. Widow White with five sons, John, William, 
Solomon, Samuel, and Lyman. A Mr. Barnes, Henry 
Edwards, Allen Gaylord, and father and mother. In the 
spring of 1812, came Noble Bates, Ephraim and Jedediah. 
Hubbel, with their aged father and mother (the latter soon 
after died); in each family were several sons; Stephen 
Gilbert, Sylvester Burk, with six sons, B. B. Burk, 
Gaius, Erectus, etc. ; Abner Cochran, on what is now 
called ^Etna street. Samuel S. Baldwin, Esq., was 
sheriff and county surveyor, and hung the noted Indian, 
John O'Mic, in 18 12. Next, Y. L. Morgan, with three 
sons, Y. L., Jr., Caleb, and Isham A. The next, on the 
present Broadway, Dyer Sherman, Christopher Gunn, 
Elijah, Charles, and Elijah Gunn, Jr; Robert Fulton, 
Robert Carr, Samuel Dille, Ira Ensign, Ezekiel Holly,, 
and two sons, Lorin and Alphonso, Widow Clark and 
four sons, Mason, Martin, Jarvis, and Rufus." 

Isham A. Morgan, who, also, saw Cleveland for the first 
time in 1 8 1 1 , has added some points of detail to the 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 5S 

above. 11 " Then what now is a grand and growing city r 
could hardly be called a village. A few houses of the 
primitive order located along Superior street between the 
river and the Public Square, with here and there a tem- 
porary dwelling in the bushy vicinity, gave but a slight 
indication that it was the beginning of a future large city. 
I remember when there was no court house in Cleveland, 
nor a church building in Cuyahoga County, nor a bridge 
across the river from the outlet to Cuyahoga Falls. The 
outlet of the river, at that time, was some 120 yards west of 
where it is now (188 1), and was sometimes completely 
barred across with sand by storms, so that men having 
on low shoes have walked across without wetting their 
feet. A ferry at the foot of Superior street, consisting of 
one flat-boat and a skiff, answered the purpose to convey 
over the river all who desired, for quite a number of years. 
The first water supply for extinguishing fires 
in Cleveland was a public well eight feet across, with a 
wheel and two buckets, situated on Bank street, near Su- 
perior. In those days nearly every family had a well at 
their back door, of good water for every purpose except 
washing. To supply water for washing, when rain water 
failed, Benhu Johnson, a soldier of the war of 18 12- 14 
(who lost a leg in the campaign and substituted a wooden 
one), with his pony and wagon, supplied as many as 
needed, from the lake at twenty-five cents a load of two 
barrels ; and Jabez Kelley furnished the soap at a shilling 
a gallon, made at his log soap and candle factory, located 
on Superior street, near the river. . . . Where 
Prospect street is now, next to Ontario, was the 
old cemetery, surrounded by bushes and blackberry 
briars. Outside of the cemetery, west, south and east, 
the forest stood in its native grandeur. On Ontario 
street, a little south of the old cemetery, was a large 
mound, supposed to be the work of the Mound Builders 
of prehistoric times. It stood several years after we came, 

11 "What I Recollect," by I. A. Morgan.— "Annals of the Early Settlers' 
Association," No. 2, p. 59; No. 7, p. 14; No. 11, p. 40S. 



ij6 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



before it was made level with the surrounding earth." 
The year 1812 was in marked contrast to the one pre- 
ceding it, as the shadow of the second great war with 
England fell across the threshold of Cleveland, and there 
was no lack of stir, turmoil, apprehension, and danger. 
Although actual hostilities never touched the city, and no 
force of the enemy appeared at its gates, the center of the 
war upon the lakes and in the west was near enough to 
keep it in hourly fear, and to make the port of Cuyahoga 
an important base for supplies, and a point for the gather- 
ing and moving of troops. 

Congress, on the 18th of June, declared war, and on 
June 28th a swift-riding expressman came galloping into 
Cleveland, with the announcement of that important fact. 
Ten days of the most rapid work of which horse-flesh, 
with frequent relays, was possible, had been consumed in 

carrying the news from the 
Potomac to the Cuyahoga. 

This news meant much to 
all this thinly-settled and un- 
defended portion of the west. 
The fear of England was a 
secondary consideration; but 
England had fostered the 
friendship of the Indians, and 
there was no telling what fear- 
ful havoc might be wrought by 
these savage allies of the for- 
WK\ MM*-. eign foe. The hope of regain- 

ing her lost colonies had never 
been relinquished by England ; 
and the secret endeavors of 
her diplomats to foment disturbances upon the western 
frontiers of the United States, and open the way for an 
Indian uprising, that should destroy the power of our 
government in these sections, had much to do with the 
action of the United States in declaring war. 

During this war, Cleveland became one of the important 




GEN. W. H. HARRISON. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 57 

military stations of the lake country. It was the place of 

gathering for the militia of this section, whose services 
were made use of by the government. Fort Huntington, 
a small stockade, was erected on the shore of the lake 
near the foot of. Seneca street, and named after Ohio's 
recent governor. Major Jessup, of the United States 
Army, was in command ; and the fort was largely used as 
a guard-house for soldiers who were under arrest. 

The declaration of war did not come as a surprise, as 
such action had been expected for some time. The people 
were therefore prepared for action when the messenger 
rode in with his news, and such measures for defense as 
were possible were taken. Arms and ammunition were 
issued, and the militia were drilled in a manner that sug- 
gested service, rather than muster-day. There was 
naturally great anxiety, as no one could tell at what mo- 
ment a British war-ship might anchor off the harbor 
and knock the little town to pieces, or a band of Indians 
creep in by night and give the settlement to fire and 
death. 

The hope of the settlers pointed in two directions. 
They depended upon General Van Rensselaer, on the 
Niagara, to defend them toward the east, and General 
Hull, at Detroit, to guard them upon the west. It was 
further believed that the forces under these two leaders 
would be able at an early day to conquer that portion of 
Canada north of Lake Erie, and thus remove the main 
danger in that direction. That hope was somewhat damp- 
ened, when a messenger brought the news that Hull had 
advanced into Canada, been driven back, and was now 
endeavoring to hold his own upon the American side of 
the Detroit River. 

Worse news was to follow, and along in August came 
the dire intelligence that Hull had surrendered his entire 
force, and that the British and their Indian allies were al- 
ready in possession of one of the most important military 
and civil posts in the west. 

No one could tell at what hour the successful foe miofht 



ijS THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

come sweeping along the south shore of Lake Erie, upon 
a work of devastation and death. The excitement in 
Cleveland was naturally at fever heat. Messengers were 
quickly mounted and sent in all directions to carry the 
warning, and ask for aid. One was sent directly to General 
Wadsworth, 12 at Canfield, asking him to lend such aid as 
the militia under his command could give. The manner 
in which the people received the news has been described 
by eye-witnesses, whom it is my privilege to quote direct. 
Alfred Kelley 13 says : ' ' Information was received' at 
Cleveland, through a scout from Huron, that a large num- 
ber of British troops and Indians were seen from the 
shore, in boats, proceeding down the lake, and that they 
would probably reach Cleveland in the course of the en- 
suing night. This information spread rapidly through 
the surrounding settlements. A large proportion of the 
families in Cleveland, Newburg (then part of Cleve- 
land), and Euclid, immediately on the receipt of this news, 
took such necessary articles of food, clothing and utensils 
as they could carry, and started for the more populous and 
less exposed parts of the interior. About thirty men only 
remained, determined to meet the enemy if they should 
come, and, if possible, prevent their landing. They de- 
termined at least to do all in their power to allay the panic, 
and prevent the depopulation of the country. Several 
ladies of Cleveland, among whom were Mrs. George Wal- 
lace, Mrs. John Walworth and Mrs. Dr. Long, resolved 
not to desert their husbands and friends. When Mrs. 
Long was told that she could not fight or forcibly oppose 

12 " The news (of Hull's surrender) reached General Wadsworth, at 
Canfield, on the 22nd of August, who, without authority from Governor 
Meigs or the general Government, issued an order on the same day for the 
entire division to rendezvous at this place." The " Trump of Fame" 
(of Warren), in its issue of September 2nd, said: "As soon as the news of 
the fall of Detroit was confirmed, every man ran to arms ; old and young, 
without distinction of politics, repaired to the post of danger. None 
waited for the formality of orders, but every one, whether exempt from 
military duty or not, put on his armor." — Western Reserve Historical So- 
ciety's Tract No. 51, p. 116. 

13 Whittlesey's " Early History of Cleveland," pp. 450-451. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



*59 



the enemy, she replied that she ' eould nurse the sick — 
wounded — encourage and comfort those who could fight; 
at any rate she would not, by her example, encourage dis- 
graceful flight.' 

Isham A. Morgan 14 adds some details of interest: 
" One day the people at the mouth of Huron River dis- 
covered parties coming in boats; they were a good deal 
alarmed, as they supposed them to be British and Indians 
to be let loose on the almost defenseless settlers. A courier 
was immediately sent to Cleveland to give the alarm there. 
Major Samuel Jones, of Cleveland, got on his horse and 
scoured the country round, telling the people to go to 
Doan's Corners, and there . would be a guard to protect 
them as best they could. My brother yoked and hitched 
the oxen to the wagon, as we 
then had but one horse. After 
putting a few necessary articles 
into the wagon and burying a 
few others, all went to Doan's 
Corners — East Cleveland, where 
most of the people in Cleve- 
land and vicinity assembled. 
My father had been ill with a 
fever, and was scarcely able to 
be about; he took the gun, 
which had been brought along, 
and handed it to my brother, commodore o. h. perry. 

Y. L. Morgan, who was a good shot, and said to him, 
' If the Indians come, vou see that there is one less to go 
away ! ' That night was spent in expectation not the pleas- 
antest. A few men had stayed in Cleveland, to watch de- 
velopments there. In the morning, Captain Allen Gaylord 
was seen approaching the encampment, waving his sword, 
and saying, ' To your tents, oh Israel ! General Hull has 
surrendered to the British general, and our men, instead of 
Indians, were seen off Huron. They are returning: to their 




14 " Incidents in the Career of the Morgan Family," by Isham A. Mor- 
gan. — "Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 5, p. 26. 



i6o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

homes. ' Thankful were all that it turned out with them to be 
nothing worse than the inconvenience of fleeing from their 
homes on short notice under unpleasant circumstances. ' ' 

While the refugees were gathering out at Doan's Cor- 
ners, a little band of men were down at Cleveland, deter- 
mined to meet the foe with such resistance as they could 
offer. When night came on they posted sentinels along 
the water front, and lay down to rest, but were soon 
awakened by an alarm that a vessel was approaching. 

The men sprang to their arms, and lined up along the 
landing-place, ready to answer the first sign of an attack. 
A challenge was shouted from the shore, and back came 
the response, ' ' We are paroled prisoners of Hull's army ! ' ' 

The army of defense became a committee of welcome, 
and the troops were brought ashore, and cared for. Some 
of them were suffering from wounds, and were car- 
ried up to the still vacant Murray store on Superior street, 
which was turned into a temporary hospital. 

Two companies of militia were ready for service within 
the present limits of the city, one hailing from Cleveland 
and one from Newburg. The Clevelanders mustered 
about fifty men, each being uniformed in his citizen's 
suit, and armed with his own rifle or shotgun, whatever 
the make. In a few months the company disbanded, sub- 
ject to call. The full company roll is here given: 

Captain : Harvey Murray. 

Lieutenant : Lewis Dille. 

Ensign : Alfred Kelley. 

Sergeants : Ebenezer Green, Simeon Moss, Thomas 
Hamilton, Seth Doan. 

Corporals : James Root, John Lauterman, Asa Dille, 
Martin G. Shelhouse. 

Drummer : David S. Tyler. 

Fifer : Rodolphus Carlton. 

Privates : Aretus Burk, Allen Burk, Charles Brandon, 
John Bishop, Moses Bradley, Silas Burk, Sylvester 
Beacher, James S. Bills, John Carlton, Mason Clark, An- 
thony Doyle, Luther Dille, Samuel Dille, Samuel Dodge, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 161 

Moses Eldred, Samuel Evarts, Ebenezer Fish, Zebulon 
R. S. Freeman, Robert Harberson, Daniel S. Judd, Jack- 
son James, John James, Stephen King, Guy Lee, Jacob 
Mingus, Thomas Mcllrath, William McConkey, Samuel 
Noyes, David Reed, John Sweeney, Parker Shadrick, 
Luther Sterns, Bazaleel Thorp, John Taylor, Thomas 
Thomas, Hartman VanDuzen, Joseph Williams, Matthew 
Williamson, John Wrightman, William White, Joseph 
Burk, Robert Prentice, Benjamin Ogden. 

A somewhat similar company was organized in New- 
burg, under the command of Captain Allen Gaylord, 
whose Scriptural admonition to the fugitives at Doan's 
Corners has been noted already. 

General Wadsworth 15 made immediate response to 
the request for help that frightened Cleveland had sent 
him. He ordered all the militia of his division into the field, 
and on August 23rd left Canfield for the lake shore, escorted 
by a company of horsemen. He came by way of Hudson, 
Bedford and Newburg, and reached Cleveland on the 
afternoon of the 24th, receiving a most hearty welcome. 

With him came Elisha Whittlesey, who so long repre- 
sented one of the districts of the Reserve in Congress, and 
also Benjamin Tappen, another prominent man of his day, 
both of whom were Wadsworth 's aids. Col. Lewis Cass 
reached Cleveland from Detroit on the same even- 
ing, and his denunciation of Hull's surrender was 
expressed in terms of the most vehement anger. He 
was then en route to Washington, and was accom- 
panied upon his journey by Ex-Governor Huntington, 
who had ridden over from his home in Painesville, and 
met these other distinguished gentlemen in Cleveland. 

15 Elijah Wadsworth was born at Hartford, Conn., on November 4th, 
1 747. He served in the Revolutionary War with honor, coming out with the 
title of captain. In 1802, he removed to Canfield, Ohio, where he owned 
considerable land. In 1 804, he was made major-general of the Fourth Divis- 
ion Ohio Militia, embracing the northeastern part of the State. He rendered 
loyal service to his country in the War of 1812, and died at Canfield on 
December 30th, 181 7. General Wadsworth built the first frame house 
in Canfield. At Litchfield, Conn. , he built the house in which Dr. Lyman 
Beecher afterwards lived, and in which Henry Ward Beecher was born. 



i6 2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Mr. Huntington carried to the war department a letter 
from General Wads worth, in which he described the situ- 
ation in this section, and set forth his needs. He in- 
formed the Secretary of War that he had called out three 
thousand men ; was in need of arms, equipments, ammu- 
nition and rations, and asked for immediate aid ; but, like 
the prompt man he was, did not sit idle and wait for a 
response. He appointed three commissioners, whose 
business it was to purchase food and forage from the 
people, giving certificates in return, which were based 
upon the future good faith of the government. 

Toward the end of August, an accession of force came 
in the person of General Simon Perkins, 16 who was ac- 
companied by quite a body of militia. He was sent to the 
Huron River, with a thousand men, with orders to protect 
the people, and build block-houses where needed. Gen- 
eral R. Beall was also dispatched in the same direction, 
with another body of troops ; while Wadsworth soon fol- 
lowed with the greater part of his remaining force. 

When General William Henry Harrison took com- 
mand in the northwest, General Perkins, at the head of 
some five hundred men, was stationed near the mouth of 
the Huron River, and before long came in conflict with a 
force of British and Indians, and fought the engagement 
known in Ohio history as the " Battle of the Peninsula." 
Soldiers from the Cuyahoga were engaged, and one 
member of the Cleveland company — James S. Hills, was 
killed, and two others wounded. 

Only a small guard was on duty at Cleveland during 
the quiet that accompanied the winter of 1 8 12- 13. With 

lfi Simon Perkins was a prominent figure in the early history of the Re- 
serve, and his sons have been in later years counted among the best and most 
useful citizens of this quarter of Ohio. He was born on September 17th, 
1771, atLisbon, Conn., of one of the best known Puritan families of New Eng- 
land. He was a surveyor by profession, and in 1 798 came to Ohio in the 
interests of the Connecticut Land Company, and remained as its agent at 
"Warren until the final winding up of its affairs in 1831. He filled many 
offices of trust, and gave good service as a general of the Ohio Militia in the 
War of 1812. He died in November, 1S44. He was the father of Joseph 
Perkins, of Cleveland, and of Jacob and Henry B. Perkins, of Warren. 






THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 163 

the spring came Major Jessup, of the regular army, who 
took command at this point. A company of regular troops 
under command of Captain Stanton Sholes arrived in May 
of this year; and under his orders a plain, but substantial, 
hospital was erected. It was also at this time that Fort 
Huntington, already referred to, was constructed. It was 
built of logs some twelve feet long, that were sunk into 
the ground three or four feet; the sides of those adjoin- 
ing each other being hewed down for a few inches, thus 
fitting them solidly together. This formed a good de- 
fense against small arms, while dirt was heaped up against 
the outside, to deaden the effect of heavier missiles. Trees 
and brush were next cut and piled along the side toward 
the lake, making a long abatis very difficult to scale. 

Captain Sholes, in the later days of peace, after his 
country had passed through its war with Mexico, and was 
upon the verge of the most terrible conflict of all — in 1858, 
when 87 years of age — penned an account of his recep- 
tion in Cleveland on May 10th, 18 13, when his company 
of regulars marched into the city. " I halted my com- 
pany," said he, " between Major Carter's and Wallace's. 
I was here met by Governor Meigs, who gave me a most 
cordial welcome, as did all the citizens. The Governor 
took me to a place where my company could pitch their 
tents. I found no place of defense, no hospital, and a 
forest of large timber (mostly chestnut), between the lake, 
and the lake road. There was a road that turned off be- 
tween Mr. Perry's and Major Carter's that went to the 
point, which was the only place that the lake could be 
seen from the buildings. This little cluster of build- 
ings was all of wood, I think none painted. There were 
a few houses further back from the lake road. The widow 
Walworth kept the post-office, or Ashbel, her son. Mr. 
L. Johnson, Judge Kingsbury, Major Carter, N. Perry, 
Geo. Wallace, and a few others were there. At my ar- 
ri\ T al I found a number of sick and wounded who were of 
Hull's surrender, sent here from Detroit, and more com- 
ing. These were crowded into a log-cabin, and no one to 



164 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

care for them. I sent one or two of my soldiers to take 
care of them, as they had no friends. I had two or three 
good carpenters in my company, and set them to work to 
build a hospital. I very soon got up a good one, thirty 
by twenty feet, smoothly and tightly covered, and floored 
with chestnut bark, with two tier of bunks around the 
walls, with doors and windows, and not a nail, or screw, 
or iron latch or hinge about the building. Its cost to the 
Government was a few extra rations. In a short time I 
had all the bunks well strawed, and the sick and wound- 
ed good and clean, to their great joy and comfort, but 
some had fallen asleep. I next went to work and built a 
small fort, about fifty yards from the bank of the lake, in 
the forest. This fort finished, I set the men to felling 
the timber along and near the bank of the lake, rolling the 
logs and brush near the brink of the bank to serve as a 
breastwork. On the 19th of June, a part of the British 
fleet appeared off our harbor, with the apparent design to 
land. When they got within one and a half miles of our 
harbor, it became a perfect calm, and they lay there till 
afternoon, when a most terrible thunderstorm came up, 
and drove them from our coast. We saw them no more 
as enemies. Their object was to destroy the public or 
government boats, then built and building, in the Cuya- 
hoga River, and other government stores at that place." 17 
The war vessels to which Captain Sholes refers were 
the ''Lady Provost," the "Queen Charlotte," 18 and 
several smaller vessels. Had an attempt been made to land, 
the city was prepared to make a valiant defense ; as each 

17 From a letter to John Barr, secretary of the Cuyahoga County Histori- 
cal Society, under date of July, 1S58. — Whittlesey's " Early History of 
Cleveland," p. 442. 

18 The following note concerning these vessels is from the pen of Hon. 
O. J. Hodge : ' ' The following ioth of September these two vessels composed 
a part of the British force under Captain Robert H. Barclay, in the mem- 
orable naval battle when Oliver H. Perry gained his great victory. Both 
we're captured in that fight. After the war, the ' Lady Provost,' in 1815, 
was sold to a Canadian merchant, and for many years did service in the 
carrying trade of the lakes. The ' Queen Charlotte,' after the war, was 
sunk for preservation in Misery Bay, but some years later was raised, 
fitted out, and sailed as a merchantman on the lakes. ' ' 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 165 



man who could muster a gun saw that it was well loaded, 
and hastened to the water front. There was one small can- 
non in the place, and for lack of a better carriage, it was 
swung upon the hind wheels of a wagon, and loaded 
ready for business. The battle was never fought, as for 
once the sudden squalls for which Lake Erie is famous 
sprang up, and drove the enemy away. 

A visit from General Harrison, on a tour of inspection, 
was one of the events of the midsummer. He was accom- 
panied by his staff, among whom were Governor Hunting- 
ton, Major George Tod, Major Jessup, and Col. Wood. 
He was cordially received by the people, and remained 
but three days, when he returned to headquarters at the 
mouth of the Maumee. When Commodore Perry passed 
up Lake Erie, just before that memorable battle that won 
him such glorious fame, and broke the British power in 
the northwest, his fleet lay off the mouth of the Cuya- 
hoga, while he paid a visit to the shore. Only a few 
weeks later, the people along the lake shore heard the 
deep roar of his guns in the still September air. Be- 
fore long came the glad tidings that have made the 10th 
of September, 18 13, a glorious day in the annals of our 
country. When Harrison won the battle of the Thames 
in October, he and Perry came down the lake together, en 
route for Buffalo, and visited Cleveland on the way. They 
were entertained at a banquet while here, and the Ma- 
sons of all this neighborhood met them in special session, 
out at the hospitable home of Judge Kingsbury. Al- 
though peace was not formally declared until 1 8 1 5 , the war 
was at an end so far as Cleveland was directly concerned. 

Returning once more to the quiet ways of peace, we 
find that Cuyahoga County, having come into possession 
of a court of her own, felt the need of a suitable struc- 
ture in which the judiciary and the executive officers could 
be properly housed. A contract was therefore made be- 
tween the county commissioners and Levi Johnson, for 
the erection of a court-house and jail on the northwest 
corner of the Public Square. This work was commenced 



1 66 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



in 1 8 12, but was not completed until the summer of the 
succeeding year. The building was of wood, two stories 
high, with a jail and living room for the sheriff on the 
ground floor, and a court room above. It was in this 
little building that justice, according to the high Cuyahoga 
standard, was administered for some fifteen years. 

It was not ready, however, for either the trial or incar- 
ceration of the first man, white or red, tried for murder, 
and executed, in Cuyahoga County. 

There was one, O'Mic, 19 or Poccon, the son of O'Mic, 
who committed murder for gain, and was compelled to 
pay the penalty, under the laws of Ohio. A daughter of 
Judge John Walworth, who knew him as a boy, says that he 

1 ' was not a bad Indian 
towards the whites. 
When we were chil- 
dren at Painesville, 
we used to play to- 
gether on the banks 
of the Grand River, 
at my father's old 
residence, which we 
called Bloomingdale." 
A story is told on the 
authority of a niece 
of Major Carter, that when young John was near six- 
teen years of age, he entered the Carter garden with- 
out permission, and began to help himself to the veget- 
ables. He was ordered away by Mrs. Carter, but in- 
stead of going, whipped out a knife and chased her 
around the house, leaving, only Avhen a stalwart young 
man appeared upon the scene and drove him away. 

19 There is some question as to this young Indian's name. Col. Whit- 
tlesey, quoting Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, calls him simply O'Mic, and the 
same form is used in the court records, with the name John prefixed. 
Mrs. Julianna Long also calls \i\vt\John O ' Mic. The ' ' History of Cuyahoga 
County ' ' says Joh)i Omic. In his ' ' Pioneer Medicine on the Western 
Reserve," Dr. Dudley P. Allen declares that his name was Poccon; 
that he " was about twenty-one years old, and the son of old O'Mic." 




FIRST COURT HOUSE AND JAIL. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 167 

It is needless to add that when the redoubtable Major 
came home and heard this story, he set out in instant 
search of the young - rascal, as he was the last man in 
Cleveland to allow a deed of that kind to go unpunished. 

He went to the Indian headquarters, on the other side 
of the river. It is said that he put a rope in his pocket, 
with the declaration that he would hang the offender if 
he caught him — which story has a suggestion of prophecy, 
if true, as Carter was the chief instrument of O'Mic's exe- 
cution, some years later. As that may be, the father of the 
boy was so impressed by the Major's visit, and the remarks 
he made over there, that a promise was given that young 
John should be kept on the western shore of the river, and 
it is further said that the next trip that he made across 
the river, was when on his way to trial and punishment. 

The crime for which he was executed was committed 
near Sandusky City, Huron County then being attached 
to Cuyahoga for judicial purposes. Two white trappers, 
named Buel and Gibbs, were murdered in their sleep and 
their traps and furs stolen. Three Indians were arrested 
for the deed; one of them escaped by suicide, and an- 
other was let 0:0 because of his youth. 20 The third was 
young O'Mic, who was brought to Cleveland and turned 
over to Major Carter, who tied him to a rafter in his 
house, in the absence of a jail. 

The crime was committed on April 3d, 18 12, and the 
trial occurred in the same month. The court sat in the 
open air, at the corner of Water and Superior streets, 
under the shade of a protecting tree. Alfred Kelley was 
prosecuting attorney; Peter Hitchcock counsel for the 
defense. The court records 21 further show that the 

-° This mercy was ill-requited. ' ' The boy was considered as forced into par- 
ticipation by the others, and was suffered to escape, and lived to be the ring- 
leader of two others in the murder of John Wood and George Bishop, west of 
Carrying River, in 181 6, for which they were all executed in Huron County. " 
— Statement made by Seth Doan, in 1841. — Whittlesey's" Early History 
of Cleveland," p. 436. 

21 Volume A, Records of the Supreme Court of Ohio for the County of 
Cuyahoga, is replete with pioneer history. It includes the records of the 
court from April, 1S12, to August, 1S24. 



i68 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

judges of court were William W. Irvin and Ethan Allen 
Brown; sheriff, Samuel S. Baldwin; grand jurors, Asa 
Smith, Hezekiah King, Horatio Perry, Calvin Hoadley, 
Lemuel Hoadley, Plinney Mowrey, James Cudderbach, 
John Shirtz, Benjamin Jones, Jeremiah Everitt, Samuel 
Miles, Jacob Carad, and Harvey Murray. The petit jurors 
were Hiram Russell, Levi Johnson, Philemon Baldwin, 
David Bunnel, Charles Gunn, Christopher Gunn, Samuel 
Dille, Elijah Gunn, David Barret, Dyer Shearman, 
William Austin, and Seth Doan. 

The indictment charged O'Mic with the murder of 
Daniel Buel, the crime being committed " with a certain 
Tomahawk, made of iron and Steele." The trial was of 
short duration ; the verdict ' ' guilty ; ' ' and the sentence 
of death fixed for the 26th of June following. 

Many accounts have been written of this pioneer exe- 
cution which vindicated before the red man the strong 
power of the white man's law; an event which may well 
be classed as one of the most dramatic, in all its incidents 
and surroundings, of any that have happened in the valley 
of the Cuyahoga. No account yet penned has so well 
told the story as that of Elisha Whittlesey, 22 who was an 
eye-witness, and speaks from personal knowledge. I 
repeat his story in full : 

"After his conviction, O'Mic told Mr. Carter and Sher- 
iff Baldwin (who was from Danbury), that he would 
let the pale faces see how an Indian could die ; that they 
need not tie his arms, but when the time came he would 
jump off from the gallows. Before Mr. Carter's house, 
in the direction of Superior street, was an open space, 
somewhat extensive, and covered with grass. The re- 
ligious exercises were held there. Several clergymen 
were present, and I think the sermon was delivered by 
the Rev. Mr. Darrow, of Vienna, Trumbull County. The 
military were commanded by Major Jones, a fine-looking 
officer in full uniform, but he was in the condition that 
Captain McGuffy, of Coitsville, said he was when he was 

2-2 " Execution of O'Mic, June 24th, 1S12," by the Hon. E. Whittlesey. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i6 9 > 

commanded to perform an evolution by his company and 
could not do it. His explanation was, ' I know Baron 
Steuben perfectly well, but I cannot commit him to 
practice.' 

" O'Mic sat on his coffin in a wagon painted for the oc- 
casion. He was a fine-looking young Indian, and watched 
everything that occurred with much anxiety. The gal- 
lows was erected on the Public Square in front of where 
the old court house was erected. After the religious 
services were over, Major Jones endeavored to form a hol- 
low square, so that the prisoner should be guarded on all 
sides. He rode backwards and forwards with drawn 
sword, epaulets, and scabbard flying, but he did not know 
what order to give. The wagon with O'Mic moved ahead 
and stopped ; but as the Sheriff doubted whether he was 
to be aided by the military, he proceeded onward. Major 
Jones finally took the suggestion of some one, who told, 
him to ride to the head of the line, and double it round 
until the front and rear of the line met. Arriving at the 
gallows, Mr. Carter, the Sheriff and O'Mic ascended ta 
the platform by a ladder. The arms of the prisoner were 
loosely pinioned. A rope was around his neck with a 
loop in the end. Another was let down through a hole 
in the top piece, on which was a hook to attach to the 
rope around the neck. The rope with the hook was 
brought over to one of the posts, and fastened to it near 
the ground. 

. "After some little time, Mr. Carter came down, leaving 
O'Mic and Sheriff Baldwin on the platform. As the 
Sheriff drew down the cap, O'Mic was the most terrified 
being, rational or irrational, I ever saw, and seizing the 
cap with his right hand, which he could reach by bending 
his head and inclining his neck in that direction, he 
stepped to one of the posts and put his arm around it. 
The Sheriff approached him to loose his hold, and for a 
moment it was doubtful whether O'Mic would not throw 
him to the ground. Mr. Carter ascended to the platform 
and a negotiation in regular diplomatic style was had. It 



i 7 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

was in the native tongue, as I understood at the time. 
Mr. Carter appealed to O'Mic to display his courage, nar- 
rating what he had said about showing pale faces how an 
Indian could die, but it had no effect. Finally, O'Mic 
made a proposition, that if Mr. Carter would give him 
half a pint of whisky he would consent to die. The 
whisky was soon on hand, in a large glass tumbler, real 
old Monongahela, for which an old settler would almost 
be willing to be hung, if he could now obtain the like. 
The glass was given to O'Mic and he drank the whisky 
in as little time as he could have turned it out of the glass. 
Mr. Carter again came down, and the Sheriff again drew 
down the cap, and the same scene was re-enacted, O'Mic 
expressing the same terror. Mr. Carter again ascended 
to the platform, and O'Mic gave him the honor of an In- 
dian, in pledge that he would not longer resist the sen- 
tence of the court, if he should have another half pint of 
whisky. Mr. Carter, representing the people of Ohio 
and the dignity of the laws, thought the terms were rea- 
sonable, and the whisky was forthcoming on short order. 
The tumbler was not given to O'Mic, but it was held to 
his mouth, and as he sucked the whisky out, Sheriff Bald- 
win drew the rope that pinioned his arms more tightly, 
and the rope was drawn down to prevent the prisoner from 
going to the post, and to prevent him from pulling off his 
cap. The platform was immediately cleared of all but 
O'Mic, who run the ends of his fingers on his right hand 
between the rope and his neck. The rope that held up 
one end of the platform was cut, and the body swung in 
a straight line towards the lake, as far as the rope permit- 
ted and returned, and after swinging forth and backward 
several times, and the weight being about to be suspend- 
ed perpendicular under the center of the top of the gal- 
lows, the body turned in a circle and finally rested still. 
At that time a terrific storm appeared and came up from 
the north northwest with great rapidity, to avoid which, 
and it being doubtful whether the neck was broken, and to 
accomplish so necessary part of a hanging, the rope was 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 7 i 

drawn down with the design of raising the body, so that, 
by a sudden relaxing of the rope, the body would fall 
several feet, and thereby dislocate the neck beyond any 
doubt; but when the body fell, the rope broke as readily 
as a tow string and fell upon the ground. The coffin and 
grave were near the gallows and the body was picked up, 
put into the coffin, and the coffin immediately put into the 
grave. The storm was heavy and all scampered but 
O'Mic. The report was, at the time, that the surgeons 
at dusk raised the body, and when it lay on the dissect- 
ing table, it was easier to restore life than to prevent it." 

There is a second chapter to this story — brief, but ex- 
pressive. There were several physicians present at the 
execution, from various sections of the Reserve. At 
night, with the tacit consent of the Sheriff, they visited 
the Public Square, and came away with a bundle they had 
not carried there. " The skeleton was placed below a 
spring, on the bank of the lake, east of Water street," 
writes a descendant 23 of one of these medical gentle- 
men, " and remained there for about one year, after 
which time it was properly articulated. The skeleton 
was for a long time in the possession of Dr. Long, but 
was later in Hudson in the office of Dr. Town. From 
there, it was supposed, it was carried to Penn, near Pitts- 
burg, to Dr. Murray, a son-in-law of Dr. Town. The 
writer has made every effort to discover its whereabouts 
and restore the bones to Cleveland, which should be their 
proper resting place, but all efforts to this end have 
proved fruitless." 

The meetings of the electors of Cleveland township 
had hitherto been held at pm^ate residences, but with the 
completion of the court-house, the gatherings Avere 
within its more commodious quarters, and the record 
book proudly carries the entry, " at the court-house." 

A glimpse at a pioneer moving, and at Cleveland in the 
summer of 1813, is afforded by a member of a family 

23 " Pioneer Medicine on the Western Reserve," by Dudley P. Allen, 
M. D. — " Magazine of Western History," Vol. III., p. 286. 



i 7 2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

which had decided to make its home in this section. 
" In 1 8 1 1 , my grandfather, Jacob Russell," says the nar- 
rator,* 4 " sold his farm and grist-mill on the Connecti- 
cut River, and took a contract for land in Newburg 
(now Warrensville), Ohio. His oldest son, Elijah, my 
father, shouldered his knapsack, and came to Ohio to get 
a lot surveyed ; he made some improvements, selected a 
place for building, and then returned to New York, where 
he lived. In the spring of the following year, he, with 
his brother Ralph, came again to Ohio, cleared their piece 
of land, planted corn, built a log-house, and went to Con- 
necticut to assist in moving the family to their new 
home, which was accomplished in the autumn of the same 
year. They formed an odd procession; father's brother, 
Elisha, and brother-in-law, Hart Risley, accompanied 
them with their families; the wagons were drawn by 
oxen, my father walking all the way so as to drive, while 
grandmother rode on horseback. When they were as 
comfortably settled as might be, father returned to his 
family, whom he moved the next summer, 1813, embark- 
ing at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., August 1st, and arriving 
at Cleveland, August 3 1st. There being no harbor at that 
time, the landing was effected by means of row-boats. 
We then pulled ourselves up the bank by the scrub-oaks, 
which lined it, and walked to the hotel kept by Major 
Carter; this hotel was then the only frame house in 
Cleveland." 

24 " Reminiscences," by Melinda Russell. — " Annals of the Early Set- 
tlers' Association," No. 4, p. 65. 






CHAPTER VIII. 

THE INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF CLEVELAND. 

The year 1814 was by no means one of moment in a 
local sense, although it saw Newburg set up as a township 
upon its own responsibility, and steps taken toward the 
incorporation of Cleveland as a village. Her claim to 
this distinction lay in the fact that she possessed a total 
of thirty-four dwelling houses and places of business — 
one of these being a brick store, the first of its kind, 
erected by J. R. and Irad Kelley. It was also becoming 
well known as a ship-building point, which fact was em- 
phasized somewhat by the means taken by Levi Johnson 
to get his schooner " Pilot " down to the water. That he 
might be near his base of timber supplies, he laid the keel 
in the woods, on the Euclid road, near the present site 
of the Opera House, and when finished, found it necessa- 
ry to drag it a half mile to the water. Unlike Robinson 
Crusoe, however, he had figured all the ways and means 
in advance. He sent for his friends in the country round- 
about, and they came with their oxen, twenty-eight yoke 
in all, placed rollers under the structure, and soon had it 
safe and sound at the foot of Superior street, where it 
gracefully slid off into the water. 

Something was done in the way of schools, a little in 
advance of anything yet recorded. We find traces of sev- 
eral centers of pioneer teaching in the neighborhood, the 
most important of which was that kept by the Rev. 
Stephen Peets, who is remembered not so much because 
of his teaching, as from the fact that he gave an enter- 
tainment that stirred the entire social nature of the set- 
tlement. Mr. Morgan, to whose wonderful memory and 
vivid descriptions I already owe so much, informs us 
that this event occurred at the log-house of Samuel 



i 74 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Dille, 25 " on the road from Newburg to Cleveland, now 
Broadway, where you first get a view of the river from the 
high land." It was a large structure for those days, and 
had a spacious upper room, running the whole length and 
breadth of the house. " There," he adds, " the people 
of Newburg and Cleveland assembled and witnessed the 
performance of the ' Conjurer ' taken from the Columbian 
Orator; the ' Dissipated Oxford Student, ' also taken from 
the same book ; ' Brutus and Cassius, ' taken from the 
American Preceptor ; and several other pieces. The vari- 
ous parts were conceded by the critics there to have 
been performed in admirable style." He then gives us 
a pen-picture of some of the difficulties of pioneer travel : 
" After the performance, my father, mother, two sisters 
and myself returned home, a distance of a mile and a 
half on the family horse. Two adults and three plump 
children, six to twelve years of age, might now be con- 
sidered a rather large load to carry, and five on a horse, 
as may be supposed, would now render a cavalcade some- 
what uncouth in appearance on the streets of Cleveland." 
The township of Newburg was organized on the 15 th 
of October of this year, 18 14, embracing within its limits 
the residences of a number of important citizens, among 
whom were James Kingsbury, Rodolphus Edwards, and 
Erastus Miles. A little over two months later, on Decem- 
ber 23rd, Cleveland made a point against its rival, by se- 
curing from the general assembly the passage of an act 
" To incorporate the Village of Cleveland in the County 
of Cuyahoga." The boundaries of this new vil- 
lage were described as "so much of the city plat of 
Cleveland, in the township of Cleveland, and County of 
Cuyahoga, as lies northwardly of Huron street, so-called, 
and westwardly of Erie street, so-called, in said city plat 
as originally laid out by the Connecticut Land Company, 
according to the minutes and survey and map thereof in 
the office of the recorder of said County of Cuyahoga." 

25 " Incidents in the Career of the Morgan Family," by I. A. Morgan. — 
" Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 5, p. 28. 




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i 7 6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

In accordance with this law, twelve of the male in- 
habitants of Cleveland met on the first Monday of June, 
1815, and, by a unanimous vote, elected Cleveland's first 
village official staff, as follows: 

President : Alfred Kelley. 

Recorder : Horace Perry. 

Treasurer : Alonzo Carter. 

Marshal: John A. Ackley. 26 

Assessors : George Wallace and John Riddle. 

Trustees : Samuel Williamson, David Long and Nathan 
Perry, Jr. 

Alfred Kelley held his position as Cleveland's first 
President less than a year, when he resigned, and was 
succeeded by his father, Daniel Kelley, on March 19th, 
1 8 16; and at the annual meeting in June of that year, the 
latter was unanimously continued in the office, which he 
held until 18 19. The elder Kelley was formerly a resi- 
dent of Lowville, New York, and served as president 
judge of the Common Pleas Court of Lewis County; was 
one of the founders of Lowville Academy, and a useful 
citizen in many public ways. 

The office of president, from Mr. Kelley's term in 18 19 
up to the adoption of the city charter and election of the 
first Mayor in 1836, was filled as follows: In 1820, 
Horace Perry was elected; Reuben Wood succeeding 
him in 1821. From the latter year until 1825, Leonard 
■Case filled the position; but failing to qualify on his 
election in the year last named, the recorder, Eleazur 
Waterman, became president ex officio. There is a blank 
in the record-book from 1825 to 1828, and an examina- 
tion of the files of the " Cleaveland Herald " for those 
years, fails to show that an election had been held. 
The probability is that Mr. Waterman continued to fill 
l>oth the office of recorder and president until 1828, 

26 Whittlesey, in "Early History of Cleveland," and the "History of 
Cuyahoga County," compiled by Crisfield Johnson, both give John A. 
Ackley. Judge Griswold, in his " Corporate Birth and Growth of Cleve- 
land," from which we have before quoted, gives the name as Joh?i A. Kel- 
ley. A reference to the original record proves that Ackley is correct. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 77 

when he was eompelled to resign because of ill-health, re- 
sulting from an accident. The next entry shows that on 
May 30th, the trustees appointed Oirson Cathan, president, 
and D. H. Beardsley, recorder. Mr. Cathan was a well- 
known painter, and was married to a daughter of Lorenzo 
Carter. The office was then filled as follows: 1829, Dr. 
David Long; 1830 and 1831, Richard Hilliard ; 1832, 1833, 
1834 and 1835, J onn W. Allen. From the twelve votes cast 
for Mr. Kelley in 181 5, Cleveland had grown to a total of 
one hundred and six votes for Mr. Allen in 1835. With 
the close of Mr. Allen's term, the old regime came to an 
end, and Cleveland entered upon her career as a city. 

Returning now to the newly incorporated Village of 
Cleveland, we see the trustees holding a meeting in Oc- 
tober (181 5), at which a number of streets were laid out, 
on the petition of John A. Ackley, Aaron Olmstead, 
Daniel Kelley, Thompson Miller, Matthew Williamson, 
Amasa Bailey, William Trimble, Levi Johnson, Joseph 
R. Kelley, Stephen Dudley, John Randall, Hiram 
Hamter, and Ashbel W. Walworth. After the streets 
are designated by the numbers of the lots, the record 
continues : 

" And it is further ordered the said several streets in 
said petition, mentioned and described, shall be severally 
distinguished, known and called by the following names, 
to-wit: The first, in said petition mentioned, shall be 
called ' St. Clair Street,' the second 'Bank Street,' the 
third ' Seneca Street,' the fourth ' Wood Street,' the 
fifth ' Bond Street,' the sixth, ' Euclid Street,' the sev- 
enth, ' Diamond Street. 27 ' " 

27 ' ' Diamond street ' ' was the designation of the streets on the four 
sides of the Public Square. Judge Griswold comments as follows: 
" Euclid street was then established from the Square to Huron street, the 
space between that point and the old middle highway being in the town- 
ship. That street in the early days, and for a long time afterwards, was 
by no means a popular highway. Stretching along the southerly side of 
the ridge, it was the receptacle of all the surface waters of the region about 
it, and during much of the time was covered with water, and for the rest 
of the year was too muddy for ordinary travel. " — "Annals of the Early 
Settlers' Association," No. 5, p. 44. 



i 7 8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

In the January following, A. W. Walworth was ap- 
pointed corporation clerk, and it was officially ordered 
that the " said clerk shall not issue any amount of bills 
greater than double the amount of the funds in his 
hands. ' ' The main points of village legislation up to 1836, 
may be briefly chronicled : In 18 16, it was ordered that 
a tax of one half per cent, be laid on all the lots in the 
township ; in 18 17, that "the several sums of money which 
were by individuals subscribed for the building of a 
school-house, in said village, shall be refunded to the sub- 
scribers;" in June, 1818, the first recorded ordinance was 
passed, declaring that ' ' if any person shall shoot or dis- 
charge any gun or any pistol within said village, such per- 
son so offending shall, upon conviction, be fined in any sum 
not exceeding five dollars, nor under fifty cents, for the 
use of said village. ' ' A number of ordinances were passed 
in 1820, among which the following may be enumerated: 
Forbidding swine running at large or butchering within 
the city limits, except under certain regulations; mak- 
ing it necessary to obtain the consent of the authorities 
before any show could be given ; forbidding horse-racing 
and fast driving; making a penalty for the running of 
geese at large ; and others of a like character. In 1823, an 
ordinance was passed regulating the planting of shade 
trees in the streets; in 1825, a tax of one-fourth per cent, 
was laid on all village property, and a new enumera- 
tion of property given; in the same year, Canal, Michi- 
gan, a part of Seneca, and Champlain streets, were offi- 
cially laid out; in 1828, a tax of two mills per dollar was 
ordered. Of course, all these things were not done with- 
out objection and grumbling from tax-payers, as human 
nature was the same sixty years ago that it is to-day. 
We find the following illustrative incident in a biog- 
raphy of the late X. E. Crittenden: 

11 In his early days in Cleveland, he was chosen one of 
the village trustees. In 1828, when he held that office, 
and Richard Hilliard was president of the board, the 
members gathered one afternoon in an office and voted an 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 79 



appropriation of two hundred dollars, to put the village 
in proper order. Great was the outcry at this wasteful- 
ness, on the part of the taxpayers. One of the old citi- 
zens, who yet lives, met Mr. Crittenden and wanted to 
know what on earth the trustees could find in the village 
to spend two hundred dollars on." 

The year 1829 saw the purchase of Cleveland's first 
fire engine. It was bought of the American Hydraulic 
Company, at an expense of two hundred and eighty-five 
dollars. The same year saw the establishment of a mar- 
ket, and the passage of an ordinance regulating the same; 
and also the return of a large delinquent tax-list. In 
1830, a village seal was ordered; it was decided that the 
stalls of the market must be disposed of by. lease ; and a 
tax of one-half mill on the dollar ordered on all city prop- 
erty. In 1 83 1, Prospect street, from Ontario to Erie, was 
laid out. It was at first named Cuyahoga street, but be- 
fore the entry was officially made the name was changed 
to Prospect. James L. Conger was appointed prosecuting- 
attorney, at a salary of thirty dollars per annum; and 
Silas Belden, street and house inspector, at the same 
sum. Both of these offices were abolished in 1832. In 
the last-named year, Dr. David Long and O. B. Skinner 
were appointed a committee to purchase a village hearse, 
harness and bier. In fear of the approach of cholera, a 
board of health was appointed, consisting of Dr. Cowles, 
Dr. Mills, Dr. St. John, S. Belden, and Ch. Denison, to 
which Dr. S. J. Weldon and Daniel Worley were after- 
wards added. In July, a tax of two mills on the dollar 
was ordered. In 1833, River street was laid out from Su- 
perior street to Union lane, and Meadow, Lighthouse, 
and Spring streets were also designated. A second fire 
engine was purchased, at an expense of seven hundred 
dollars. In 1834, a large number of new streets were 
laid out. 

This rapid resume covers the chief points of legislation 
by the incorporated village ; meanwhile, the township of 
Cleveland, covering the outside portions, was pursuing 



i8o 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



the even tenor of its way, and in its records we meet many 
names that afterwards became of no small prominence in 
the history of Cleveland. 

In June, 1817, the trustees of the township met for the 
purpose of devising some means for the increase of reve- 
nue, and relief was secured by levying a tax of fifty cents 
on each horse in the township, and half that sum on each 
head of horned cattle. Many entries are found, showing 
that various parties had been notified to leave the town- 
ship, ere they should become a charge upon the public. 
The township tax in 1821 amounted to §86. 02. P. M. 

Weddell was chosen one of 
the overseers of the poor, 
and on refusal to serve was 
compelled to pay a fine. The 
indentures of apprentices are 
entered quite frequently, one 
of them distinctly stating: 
' He will cause the said mi- 
nor to be taught to read and 
write, and so much of arith- 
metic as to include the single 
rule of three, and at the ex- 
piration of said time of serv- 
ice, to furnish the said minor with a new Bible, and at 
least two suits of common wearing apparel." An- 
other specified that one, Elizabeth, should be taught to 
read and write, and the first four rules of arithmetic, and 
at the expiration of her service be given "one feather bed 
and necessary bedding, one milch cow, one new Bible, 
and two suits of wearing apparel. ' ' There was no scramble 
for office, even as late as 1827, when this entry is found: 
"Be it remembered that Leonard Case and Samuel Cowles, 
declining to serve as overseers of the poor, after being 
duly elected for the township of Cleveland for 1827, paid 
their fines according to the requisition of the statutes. 
Accordingly the trustees appointed James S. Clark and 
John Blair to fill the vacancy of said office. They like- 




PETER M. WEDDELL. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i8r 

Avise refused to serve, and paid their fines. The trustees 
again convened, and appointed William Bliss and Reuben 
Champion. Reuben Champion declined and paid his fine. 
William Bliss accepted, and was qualified." It cost just 
two dollars to decline an office after election or appoint- 
ment. 

The year 1816 was of importance to Cleveland in vari- 
ous ways, some of which have been suggested in the fore- 
going. An attempt was made to improve the harbor 
facilities, by the building of a pier on the open lake. 
With this end in view, an incorporation called the 
' Cleveland Pier Company ' ' was formed under authority 
of the laws of Ohio, " for the purpose of erecting a pier 
at or near the village of Cleveland, for the accommodation 
of vessels navigating Lake Erie." The incorporators 
were: Alonzo Carter, A. W. Walworth, David Long, 
Alfred Kelley, Datus Kelley, Eben Hosmer, Daniel Kel- 
ley, George Wallace, Darius E. Henderson, Samuel 
Williamson, Sr., Irad Kelley, James Kingsbury, Horace 
Perry and Levi Johnson. The venture could hardly be 
called a success. Slight works were put up, but with 
quicksands underneath, and storms overhead, they were 
of short duration, and before long the waves made their 
way to the shore without obstruction. 

At this time the total assessed value of real estate 
within the city, including the entire plat surveyed in 
1796, was $21,065. A would-be prophet, who visited the 
village that year, declared that " Cleveland never would 
amount to anything, because the soil was too poor." 
He paid sixteen dollars for a barrel of salt and returned 
to Burke's tavern at Newburg, to spend the night, " be- 
cause it was the most desirable place for man and 
beast. 28 " 

Several descriptive views of the village at this period, 
when this hasty traveler thus condemned it, and shook its 
dust from his shoes in honor of Newburg, have been 

28 Statement of Royal Taylor. — " Annals of the Early Settlers' Associa- 
tion," No. 9, p. 277. 



1 82 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

preserved. Captain Lewis Dibble 29 views it from the east : 
11 On leaving Doan's Corners, one would come in a little 
time to a cleared farm. Then down about where A. P. 
Winslow now lives (Euclid and Giddings) a man named 
Curtis had a tannery. There was only a small clearing, 
large enough for the tannery and a residence. There was 
nothing else but woods until Willson avenue was reached, 
and there a man named Bartlett had a small clearing, on 
which there was a frame house, the boards running up 
and down. Following down the line of what is now 
Euclid avenue, the next sign of civilization was found at 
what is now Erie street, where a little patch of three or 
four acres had been cleared, surrounded by a rail fence. 
Where the First Methodist Church now stands, a man 
named Smith lived, in a log-house. I don't remember 
any building between that and the Square, which was 
already laid out, but covered with bushes and stumps." 

Noble H. Merwin was a notable addition to the popu- 
lation of Cleveland in 1816, coming with his family 
from Connecticut. 29a He purchased of George Wallace 
the tavern stand on the corner of Superior street and 
Vineyard lane (South Water street), and also a tract be- 
tween these two thoroughfares, extending to Division 
street, now known as Center street. His hotel was later 
known as the Mansion House. Mrs. Philo Scovill, who 
became a resident of Cleveland in the same year,- after- 
wards related her impressions of the village on first sight. 
Many stumps and uncut bushes disfigured the Public 
Square; its only decoration being the log jail. The land 
south from Superior street to the river was used as a cow 
pasture, and was thought to be of little value. 

Leonard Case, who came to the city in the same year, 
has added a number of details that fit in with the above 

29 " Personal Statement," by Captain Lewis Dibble, " Annals of the 
Early Settlers' Association," No. 7, p. 54. 

29« r t. Lyon, who was connected with the Merwin family, says that 
Mr. Merwin came to Cleveland in 181 5, and built a log warehouse on the 
corner of Superior and Merwin streets. His family came on from Con- 
necticut the next year. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 1S3 

descriptions. The only streets fairly cleared were Su- 
perior west of the Square ; Euclid road was made pass- 
able for teams, as was also a part of Ontario street. Wa- 
ter street was a winding - path in the bushes ; and Union 
and Vineyard lanes mere paths to the river. Mandrake 
lane and Seneca and Bank streets were practically all 
woods; while Ontario street north of the Square, Supe- 
rior east of it, Erie, Bond and Wood, were in a state of 
nature. A passable road ran out by Ontario street and the 
modern Broadway, to Xewburg. The Kinsman road 
(Woodland avenue) was then altogether out of town. 

Cleveland's second brick house was constructed by Al- 
fred Kelley, in 18 16. He was the owner of a piece of 
land running from Water street to the river, and to the 
lake on the northward. It was on this property that a 
story and a half building was erected, at the point where 
the Cleveland Transfer Company's building afterwards 
stood. Mr. Kelley intended it for the residence of his 
parents, but as his mother died before its completion, he 
and his young bride were its first occupants, and there 
they remained until 1827. A characteristic incident of 
the day is related in the home-coming of Mr. Kelley's 
bride. He was married in the summer of 1817, in Low- 
ville, Xew York. He had purchased a carriage in Al- 
bany, and after the wedding the young couple set out in 
that vehicle for the new home he had found in the west. 
They drove to Buffalo, and as the roads had become quite 
difficult to travel, they decided to come the remainder of 
the distance on a schooner that was then lying in the har- 
bor. As she was not yet ready to sail, they drove to 
Niagara Falls, and on the return found that the vessel 
had taken advantage of a favoring breeze, and gone on 
without them. They thereupon concluded to continue 
in their vehicle. Seven days were occupied in the trip, 
as the roads were in a fearful condition, and for portions 
of the distance both were compelled to walk. Upon 
reaching Cleveland they discovered that the schooner had 
not yet arrived in port. Their carriage was the first one 



i8 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



seen in Cleveland, and was for a long time in demand 
upon special occasions. It was used by the senior Leonard 
Case, when he, also, went forth to bring home a bride. 

The "apparent lack of piety," of which the Rev. Joseph 
Badger complained, in one of his visits to early Cleve- 
land, or some other cause, prevented the citizens of the 
little village from doing much in the way of organized 
religious effort. It was not until November 9th, 1 8 1 6, that 
the first visible step in this direction was successfully 
taken, and the foundations laid for one of the great church 
organizations of the present day. 

A little company of earnest persons met on the day 
named, at the house of Phineas Shephard, " for the pur- 
pose of nominating officers for a Protestant Episcopal 
Church " in Cleveland. Timothy Doan was chosen 
moderator, and Charles Gear clerk ; Phineas Shephard 
and Abraham Scott were elected wardens; Timothy 
Doan, Abraham Hickox and Jonathan Pelton, vestrymen; 
Dennis Cooper, reading clerk ; and the meeting then ad- 
journed "till Easter Monday next." On March 2nd of the 
following year (18 1 7), at a vestry meeting held in the 
court-house, it was resolved that the persons present were 
attached to the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United 
States, and that they did unite themselves into a congre- 
gation by the name of " Trinity Parish of Cleveland, 
Ohio, for the worship and services of Almighty God ac- 
cording to the forms and regulations of said church." 
There were present not only the above-named officials, 
but also John Wilcox, Alfred Kelley, Irad Kelley, T. M. 
Kelley, Noble H. Merwin, David Long, D. C. Henderson, 
Philo Scovill, Rev. Roger Searl, of Plymouth, Conn., 
and others. A few days later, with the Rev. Roger Searl 
acting as president ex officio, and Dr. David Long as 
clerk, a second election occurred. The new organization 
had little more than a name during the three succeeding 
years; the village was small, the church had no house in 
which to meet, and was not able to pay a settled minister. 
Mr. Searl visited the parish at intervals, but for the most 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



iS 5 



part the services of lay readers were all that could be 
secured. 

At a vestry meeting held in May, 1820, a resolution 
was adopted which must have been humiliating to Cleve- 
land, small as it then was. It was declared : ' That it 
is expedient in future to have the clerical and other pub- 
lic services of the Episcopal Church in Trinity Parish, 
heretofore located in Cleveland, held in Brooklyn ordi- 
narily, and occasionally in Cleveland and Euclid, as cir- 
cumstances may seem to require." 

Matters were left in this shape until the fall of 
1826, when the Rev. Silas C. Freeman, of Virginia, 
became rector of the parish, on a salary of $500 per an- 
num, with the .__-__ 
understanding 
that the church 
of the same 
denomination 
at Norwalk 
should employ 
him one-third 
or one-half of 
the time, pay- 
ing their pro- 
portion of the 
five hundred 
dollars. 

Under this 

new arrangement, the Parish of Trinity returned again 
to this side of the river, and services were held in the 
court-house. In 1827, Mr. Freeman was appointed 
an agent to go east, for the purpose of raising funds 
for the erection of a church building. Such success 
attended his efforts, that in 1828-9 Cleveland saw the 
erection of her first church building, which stood on the 
southeast corner of Seneca and St. Clair streets, and was 
built at a cost of $3,070. In February, 1828, the Parish 
was incorporated by special act of the general assembly,. 




TRINITY CHURCH, 1828. 



1 86 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the names of the corporators being as follows: Josiah 
Barber, Phineas Shephard, Charles Taylor, Henry L. 
Noble, Reuben Champion, James S. Clarke, Sherlock J. 
Andrews, Levi Sargeant, and John W. Allen, who were 
then wardens and vestrymen. In 1830, Rev. Mr. McElroy 
became rector, giving his whole time to Trinity, for which 
he was to receive an annual salary of S450. The growth 
in membership and influence thereafter was steady ; in 
1853, a large stone house of worship was begun on Supe- 
rior street, near Bond street, which was completed and 
consecrated in 1855. 

Cleveland not only saw its first church society organized 
in 1 8 16, but also its first bank. 

There can be found in the rooms of the Western Re- 
serve Historical Society, four record books of medium 
size, bound in a heavy brown leather, with pages here 
and there discolored by time and wear, but with each 
entry so legible that it seems to have been made but yes- 
terday. On the fly-leaf of the largest the story of the 
four is told as follows : 

11 This ledger, with the two journals and letter-book, 
are the first books used for banking in Cleveland. They 
were made by Peter Burtsell, in New York, for the Com- 
mercial Bank of Lake Erie, which commenced business in 
August, 1 8 16, — Alfred Kelley president, and Leonard Case 
[Sr.] cashier. The bank failed in 1820. On the second 
day of April, 1832, it was reorganized and resumed busi- 
ness, after paying off its existing liabilities, consisting of 
less than ten thousand dollars due the treasurer of the 
United States. Leonard Case was chosen president, and 
Truman P. Handy, cashier. The following gentlemen 
constituted its directory: Leonard Case, Samuel William- 
son, Edward Clark, Peter M. Weddell, Heman Oviatt, 
Charles M. Giddings, John Blair, Alfred Kelley, David 
King, James Duncan, Roswell Kent, T. P. Handy, John 
W. Allen. Its charter expired in 1842. The legislature 
of Ohio refusing to extend the charter of existing banks, 
its affairs were placed, by the 'courts, in the hands of T. P. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



187 



Handy, Henry B. Payne, and Dudley Baldwin, as special 
commissioners, who proceeded to pay off its liabilities, 
and wind up its affairs. They paid over to its stock- 
holders the balance of its assets in lands and money, in 
June, 1844. T. P. Handy was then appointed trustee of 
the stockholders, who, under their orders, distributed to 
them the remaining assets in June, 1845. Its capital was 
five hundred thousand dollars. The books were, prior to 
1832, kept by Leonard Case, cashier. [Presented to the 
Historical Society of Cleveland by T. P. Handy, Januarv, 

1877.]" _ 

This pioneer bank of Cleveland, which had so severe 
an experience in its early days, but made a record so hon- 
orable in conclusion, was incorporated August 6th, 18 16. 
The following named gentlemen signed the articles of in- 
corporation : John H. Strong, Samuel Williamson, Philo 
Taylor, George Wallace, David Long, Erastus Miles, Seth 
Doan, Alfred Kelley. It opened for business in a building 
standing at the corner of Superior and Bank streets. Its 
president, Alfred Kelley, Ave 
have met before ; its cashier, 
Leonard Case, left his per- 
sonal impress upon Cle\^eland 
in many ways, while his son, 
the second Leonard Case, has 
forever linked the name of his 
family with that of Cleveland 
by his princely benefactions. 

Mr. Case was born in West- 
moreland County, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1786, and in 1800 
accompanied his father to 
Trumbull County, Ohio, where the latter located on a 
farm near Warren. A severe illness, in 1801, left the son 
a cripple, and seeing that his career as a farmer was over, 
he turned his attention to the study of surveying. In 
1806, he became connected with the land commissioner's 
office in Warren, and while there took up the study of the 




LEONARD CASE, SR. 



188 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

law, and was admitted to the bar. During the War of 
1 8 12 he was engaged in the collection of taxes from non- 
residents of the Reserve, and in 1816 he came to Cleve- 
land for the position above described. 30 He also practiced 
law to some extent, and acted as land agent, to which 
latter occupation he gave himself altogether after 1834. 
He acquired an immense fortune, and died in 1864. 

The banking interests of Ohio had not been very ex- 
tensive, nor of any special credit to the State, prior to 
1 8 16. In that year an act was passed by the General 
Assembly which it was thought would result in a marked 
improvement. This general banking law incorporated 
the Franklin Bank of Columbus, the Lancaster Bank, the 
Belmont Bank of St. Clairsville, the Commercial Bank of 
Lake Erie, the Mt. Pleasant Bank, and the Bank of West 
Union, It also extended the charters of the Urbana 
Banking Company, the Columbiana Bank, of Xew Lis- 
bon; the Farmers', Mechanics' and Manufacturers' Bank, 
of Chillicothe, and the German Bank, of Wooster. It was 
provided that of the stock of these banks, and such as might 
be subsequently organized under this law, one share out 
of each twenty-five was to be set off to the State of Ohio, 
and the dividends accruing on such stock were to stand in 
lieu of taxes. A commentary upon the methods and con- 
ditions of the time is found in the fact, that when a gen- 
eral summary of the condition of the Ohio banks was made 
at a later date, four of the above named were set down as 
" worthless," three " broken," and one " closed." 

11 The first of the so-called banks of Ohio," says an em- 
inent authority 31 upon this subject, " to issue notes of 

30 " When the bank was established, a suitable person for cashier was 
required. Judge Kingsbury, happening to be in town one day. was asked, 
if he knew any one among his acquaintances who could fill^the'position. 
He said he knew a young man, by the name of Leonard Case, who wrote a 
good hand, and was said to be a good accountant ; and he thought he 
would answer. He was engaged, and was the first cashier, and Alfred 
Kelley the first president." Statement by Geo. B. Merwin. — " Annals of 
the Early Settlers' Association." Xo. 1, p. 66. 

31 " State Bank of Ohio." by "J. J. Janney. — "Magazine of Western 
History." Vol. II.. p. 15S. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. iSg 

circulation was the Miami Exporting Company, of Cincin- 
nati, which was incorporated in 1803 as a trading com- 
pany merely, and its stock was payable five per cent, in 
cash and ninety-five per cent, in produce or manufactures, 
as the president and directors might approve. The 
charter contained a clause under which the directors 
claimed the right to issue notes for circulation, and find- 
ing the treasury not as full as was thought desirable, ap- 
plication was made to an engraver, and notes were issued. 
But the time always comes in such cases when new notes 
will no longer be taken and if nothing better can be 
offered, a collapse follows." 

That Ohio might be freed from a currency of this char- 
acter, the Legislature, on February 24th, 1845, passed an 
act for the incorporation of the State Bank of Ohio, and 
other banking companies. This measure owed its exist- 
ence, in a great degree, to the wisdom and personal efforts 
of Alfred Kelley, who was then a member of the State 
Senate. It provided that the bank should have a capital 
of six millions one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
1 ' in addition to the capital of any existing banks that may 
be authorized to continue their existence subject to the 
provisions of the act." The State was divided into 
twelve districts and the capital distributed among them. 
It was provided that no more than one bank could be 
formed in a county, except under certain conditions. A 
board of bank commissioners was named in the act, one 
of whom was John W. Allen, of Cleveland. The story 
of Cleveland's branch connections will be fully related 
later. 

The brief story of the Commercial Bank of Lake Erie 
has been told in the statement made by Mr. Handy, 
above quoted. That troublesome times overtook the 
new venture was due, we may be sure, to existing condi- 
tions, rather than to any fault on the part of its sponsors, 
for Alfred Kelley and Leonard Case both showed them- 
selves, in other directions, the possessors of financial abil- 
ities of the highest order. The money market was in 



zoo THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

such condition in Cleveland just then that in 1817-1818 
small change was so scarce that the trustees of the vil- 
lage, to relieve the wants of the people, issued corpora- 
tion scrip, called by the people " corporation shinplas- 
ters," to the amount of one hundred dollars, and running 
in value from six and one-fourth cents to fifty cents. 
44 There were financiers in those days," says George B. 
Merwin, in the statement recently quoted, " as well as in 
modern times; a silver dollar was divided into nine 
pieces, each passing for a shilling, and a pistareen, worth 
eighteen and three-quarter cents, went for a shilling 
also." 

The public school system has been for years — and 
justly, too — a matter of great pride to the people of 
Cleveland, and there are few, if any, cities of the Union 
where thought and money have been more generously 
expended, in the free education of the young, than in the 
Forest City. The system, as it stands to-day, is a justifi- 
cation of all that has been attempted and performed. 

In preceding pages we have called attention to the fact 
that this was a matter that lay very close to the hearts of 
the sons and daughters of New England, who came into 
the wilderness to found communities fashioned after 
those at home ; and a glimpse has been here and there 
given of isolated pioneer schools. Cleveland possessed 
some of these at various early dates, but it was not until 
181 7 that there began to appear upon the records sub- 
stantial evidences that the matter of education had been 
taken up in real earnest at last. A little school-house had 
been erected by private subscription, 3 " 2 down on St. Clair 
street, near Bank, in a small grove of oak trees. " No 

32 The donors to this fund were as follows : T. & I. Kelley, $20; Stephen 
S. Dudley, $5; Daniel Kelley, $10; T. & D. Mills, $5 ; Wm. Trimball, S5 ; 
J. Riddall, $5; Walter Bradrock, S2. 50 ; Levi Johnson, $10; J. Heather, S5 ; 
Horace Perry, $10; John A. Ackley, S5 ; A. W. Walworth, $5; Geo. Wal- 
lace, $5; Jacob Wilkerson, $5; Plinney Mowrey, S3- 20; D. C. Henderson, 
$15; David Long, $15 ; Samuel Williamson, Si 5 ; Alonzo Carter, Si 5'. J onn 
Dixon, $5 ; N. H. Merwin, $5 ! James Root, $5 ; Joel Xason, $3 ; Edward 
3IcCarney, $5; Geo. Pease, $5. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



igr 



description of this building is needed," says Mr. Freese, 33 
in his sketch of the Cleveland schools, " further than to 
say that it resembled a country district school-house, 
being modeled upon that well-known and peculiarly con- 
structed edifice, which has suffered no change in a cen- 
tury — one story, the size about 24 by 30, chimney at one 
end, door at the corner, near the chimney, the 
six windows of twelve lights each placed high ; it 
being an old notion that children should not look out to 
see anything. Asa school-house of the olden time, some 
interest attaches to its history, but perhaps more from the 
,_. fact that it was the first 

^g^ -=gB ====>^~y ...-v„ S^ school property ever owned 

by Cleveland as a corpora- 
tion. But the schools kept 
in it were not free, except to 
a few who were too poor to 
pay tuition. The town gave 
the rent of the house to such 
teachers as were deemed 
qualified, subjecting them to 
very few conditions. Thev 




Cleveland's first school house. 



were left to 



the 



school in all respects just as they pleased. It was, in 
short, a private and not a public school." 

The village acquired this school-house by purchase. 
At a meeting of the trustees, January 13th, 18 17, it was 
declared that the sums which the public-spirited citizens, 
elsewhere named, had donated should be refunded, 
" which subscriptions shall be paid out of the treasury of 
the corporation at the end of three years from and after 
the 13th of June, 18 17." 

Mr. Mefwin 34 states that when this school was- first 
opened, there was an attendance of twenty-four, and that 

33 " Early History of the Cleveland Public Schools," by Andrew Freese ; 
published by order of the Board of Education, 1S76, p. 6. 

34 " Recollections," by George B. Merwin. — "Annals of the Early 
Settlers' Association," No. 5, p. 17. 



iQ2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

'* the young men in the town were assessed to pay the 
master for the amount of his wages for the children of 
those parents who were unable to do so;" but he does 
not tell us how this assessment was laid, or under what 
law it could be made collectible. He adds: " Religious 
services were regularly held here, Judge Kelley offering 
prayer, a young man read the sermon, and my mother 
led the singing; singing school was also kept here, 
taught by Herschel Foote, who came from Utica, X. Y., 
and established the first book-store in town." 

Samuel Williamson, son of the pioneer Samuel William- 
son, 35 whose name we have several times encountered, has 
also touched upon the early schools of the city, giving his 
personal experiences in connection therewith : 4 ' The 
first school of which I have any recollection was taught in 
a barn which stood back of the American House, between 
that and the brow of the hill ; and I should not remember 
that, perhaps, but for one or two circumstances. I know 
a severe, heavy storm of wind, rain and hail came from 
the west, and blew through the cracks and knot-holes of 
the barn, and the school was broken up for that day. Of 
course it was not a finished building at all ; it was merely 
built of planks, logs, sticks, etc. Afterwards there was a 
shed, so-called, that stood where the Commercial build- 
ings now stand (1880). There was a school also, taught 
by the late Benjamin Carter, in a little old building that 
stood on Water street. It was kept there, I think, two 
winters. Afterwards we went to the old court-house, 
and occupied, in the first place, the family room. After- 

35 The elder Williamson was a native of Cumberland County, Pa. , and 
came to Cleveland in 1S10, where, in connection with his brother, he car- 
ried on the business of tanning and currying, which he continued until his 
death, in 1834. The son Samuel was but two years of age when he came 
to Cleveland, and was born in Crawford County, Pa., in 1S0S. He was a 
member of the Cleveland bar, auditor of Cuyahoga County, a member of 
the Ohio House and Senate, served in the city council, on board of educa- 
tion, and in other positions of public trust. He served for a number of 
years as president of the Cleveland Society for Savings. He died in 18S4. 
Mr. Williamson's statement, quoted in the text, is from an address found 
in the " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," Xo. 1, p. 57. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 93 

wards we went upstairs, and occupied that room when the 
court was not in session. It was kept there, until the 
small building was erected on St. Clair, west of Bank 
street, which remained there until a very few years ago." 

Still another early settler has added his recollections to 
this entertaining collection of educational experiences. 
The date to which he refers was a little later than the 
year in which public instruction, as a corporate matter, 
began down on St. Clair street; but as the school was 
within the present limits of Cleveland, and as his state- 
ments are illustrative of general conditions, I have no 
hesitation in giving him space. George Watkins was 
brought to Cleveland in 1818, when his father, Timothy 
Watkins, found a home in a log-house on Euclid avenue. 
" My first recollection of a school-house," says the son, 36 
"was of one on Fairmount street, and a second, a block log- 
house on Giddings avenue. This [the second] was built 
in 1822, and I began to attend there the same year. The 
building was about 15 by 20 feet. It was called a block- 
house, because the logs were hewn on both sides. It was 
lighted by five windows. The old stone fire-place was six 
feet across. On three sides of the room was a platform 
seven or eight feet wide and about one foot high. An 
upright board was placed a foot or so from the edge of 
this platform. Here the little children sat, the board 
serving for the back of their seats. On the platform and 
against the wall, at the proper height, was the writing 
desk of the older pupils. This desk was continuous 
around three sides of the room. The seats, like the desk, 
were of unplaned slabs, which ran parallel with the desk. 
When it was writing time, the boys and girls had to swing 
their feet over, and proceed to business. We wrote with 
a goose quill, and every morning the master set our copies 
and mended our pens. We had school but three months, 
in the winter. ' ' 

The little building on St. Clair street well served the 

36 " How it Was," by George Watkins. — "Annals of the Early Settlers' 
Association," No. 6, p. 59. 



IQ4 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



purpose for which it was intended, but as the village 
grew and became more ambitious, it was recognized that 
something more commensurate to the public needs was 
demanded. The citizens conferred Avith each other, and 
the result was the erection, in 1821, of a two-story brick 
building, located on the north side of St. Clair street, 
half-way between Seneca and Bank streets. This was 
known as the "Cleveland Academy," and when it was 
completed in 1822, the " Cleaveland Herald," which had 
then been established, referred with pride to " the con- 
venient academy of brick, with its handsome spire, and 
its spacious room in the second story for public purposes. ' ' 

As ' soon as the 
rooms on the lower 
floor were complet- 
ed, a school was 
opened, on June 
26th, 1822, under 
the direction of the 
Rev. Wm. McLean. 
His scale of prices 
was as follows : 
Reading, spelling 
and writing, $1.75 
per term ; grammar 
and geography were 
added for one dollar 
more ; while Greek, 
Latin and the higher 
mathematics carried the grand total up to^$4 per term. 

The Academy building was about 45 by 25 feet in size; 
the lower story was divided into two school-rooms, while 
the upper floor was employed for religious services, lect- 
ures, traveling exhibitions, and such public purposes. 
A time soon came when this upper room was needed for 
the senior department, and the good fortune of Cleveland 
was never better illustrated than upon this occasion, 
when exactly the right man was sent along to occupy 




CLEVELAND ACADEMY 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



*9S 







the newly-created position of honor and responsibility. 

The name of Harvey Rice is not only connected for all 
time with the history of Cleveland, but with that of the 
free school system as well. He was one of the chief in- 
struments in the creation of that wonderful plan of educa- 
tion that made ' ' the Ohio school system ' ' a beacon light 
upon a new and untried road, for the guidance of States 
and communities elsewhere. 
In other ways, also, his many 
years spent in Cleveland 
were fruitful of benefit to 
the community at large. 

Mr. Rice was of New Eng- 
land birth, and was just 
twenty-four years of age 
when he came to Cleveland. 
He graduated from Williams 
College, and set out toward 
the new west to seek his for- 
tunes. Reaching Buffalo, he 
embarked on a schooner for Cleveland, and after three 
days of rough passage, cast anchor off the mouth of the 
Cuyahoga, on the 24th of September, 1824. "A sand-bar 
prevented the schooner from entering the river, ' ' Mr. 
Rice 3T has told us. " The jolly boat was let down, and 
two jolly fellows, myself and a young man from Balti- 
more, were transferred to the boat with our baggage, and 
rowed by a brawny sailor over the sand-bar into the placid 
waters of the river, and landed on the end of a row of 
planks that stood on stilts and bridged the marshy brink 
of the river, to the foot of Union lane. Here we were 
left standing with our trunks on the wharf-end of a plank 
at midnight, strangers in a strange land. We hardly 
knew what to do, but soon concluded that we must make 
our way in the world, however dark the prospect. There 
was no time to be lost, so we commenced our career in 
Ohio as porters, by shouldering our trunks and groping 

37 " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," Vol. III., No. 1, p. 35. 



HARVEY RICE. 



i 9 6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

our way up Union lane to Superior street, where we 
espied a light at some distance up the street, to which we 
directed our footsteps." They found themselves in a 
tavern kept by Michael Spangler, where they were 
hospitably received. 

" In the morning," Mr. Rice continues, " I took a 
stroll to see the town, and in less than half an hour saw 
all there was of it. The town, even at that time, was 
proud of itself, and called itself the ' gem of the West.' 
In fact, the Public Square, so called, was begemmed with 
stumps, while near its center glowed its crowning jewel, a 
log court-house. The eastern border of the Square was 
skirted by the native forest, which abounded in rabbits 
and squirrels, and afforded the villagers a ' happy hunt- 
ing ground.' The entire population did not, at that 
time, exceed four hundred souls. The dwellings were 
generally small, but were interspersed here and there 
with a few pretentious mansions. ... I came armed 
with no other weapons than a letter of introduction to a 
leading citizen of the town, and a college diploma printed 
in Latin, which affixed to my name the vain -glorious title 
of A. B. With these instrumentalities I succeeded, on 
the second day after my arrival, in securing the position 
of classical teacher and principal of the Cleveland Acad- 
emy." In the spring of 1826, Mr. Rice resigned this po- 
sition, and gave himself to other fields of labor. 38 Con- 
sideration of the further development of Cleveland's edu- 
cational system will be deferred to a later date. 

38 Mr. Rice became a member of the Cleveland bar ; was elected to the 
Legislature, and appointed agent for the sale of the Western Reserve 
school lands; served as clerk of Cuyahoga County, and in 185 1 was sent to 
the State Senate, where he introduced the bill which became the Ohio 
school law, under which the free 'public-schools of Ohio were organized. 
To school work, and to other lines connected with the prevention of crime 
and the reformation of criminals, Mr. Rice gave many years of earnest 
and successful labor. He was an author of note, and the efficient first 
president of the Early Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga County. His 
life of usefulness ended in 1S91. 

In connection with the above mention of Mr. Rice's services in the Gen- 
eral Assembly of Ohio, it may be mentioned, as an interesting historical 
fact, that Cuyahoga County in its long public record has been represented 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



'97 



A number of material improvements of a minor charac- 
ter — not of especial importance themselves, but sug- 
gestive of a general upward trend in business affairs — 
are noted in the year 1817. Captain William Gaylord and 
Leonard Case, Sr., put up the first frame warehouse down 
by the river, those in existence previously being of logs. 
Not long afterwards, Dr. David Long and Levi Johnson 
constructed another, of like character, near the same local- 
ity, and still another was built by John Blair. It was in 
or near the same year that Abel R. Garlick began to cut 
stone on Bank street, bringing it from Newburg. 

Several events of importance distinguished the year 
18 18, one of which was the arrival of a gentleman who 
achieved prominence at a later date as Governor of Ohio. 
Reuben Wood was a native of 
Vermont, where he was born, 
in Rutland County, in 1792. 
He gained admission to the bar, 
and in 18 18 came to Cleveland, 
where he engaged in the prac- 
tice of his profession with no 
small degree of success. In 
1852, he became a member of 
the Ohio Senate, president- 
judge of the third judicial dis- 
trict in 1 830; and in 1833 was 
elected a judge of the Supreme 
Court by a unanimous vote, serving for three years as 
Chief Justice of the State. He was elected Governor in 
1850, and re-elected in 185 1 under the new constitution. 
He resigned that office in 1853, to accept an appointment 
as consul to Valparaiso, from which he returned in 1854, 
and practically withdrew from active life. He died on 
October 1st, 1864. 

by but three Democrats in the Ohio Senate — Henry B. Payne, Harvey 
Rice, and, after a lapse of thirty years, A. J. Williams. The gentleman 
last named, in addition to his political and other public services, has been, 
and is, one of the most earnest and active of the official workers in the 
Early Settlers' Association. 




GOVERNOR REUBEN WOOD. 



igS THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Orlando Cutter came in the same year, beginning busi- 
ness in Cleveland with a stock of goods valued at twenty 
thousand dollars, which was counted a very large sum, at 
this point, at that time. Samuel Cowles, a business man 
and attorney, also arrived. There came, besides, a youth 
who, although then quite young and little known, after- 
ward became one of the best known of Cleveland's citi- 
zens — a gentleman whose facile pen has done much in 
preserving a record of early events. This was John H. 
Sargent, whose name is inseparably connected with the 
history of civil engineering and early railroad construc- 
tion in Northern Ohio, and whose death occurred in 



'o 



When the boy was but four years of age his father, 
Levi Sargent, with his family, reached the mouth of the 
Cuyahoga in a little schooner. They were taken off in 
lighters, and found a temporary home in the Grand Hotel, 
kept by Noble H. Merwin, from which they soon removed 
into a small red house on Water street. Mr. Sargent, in 
his characteristic manner, has sketched some of the con- 
ditions then existing — probably, not entirely from his 
youthful memory unaided by others: " Orlando Cutter 
dealt out groceries and provisions at the top of Superior 
lane, looking up Superior street to the woods in and be- 
yond the Public Square, and I still remember the sweets 
from his mococks of Indian sugar. Nathan Perry sold 
dry goods, Walworth made hats, and Tewell repaired old 
watches on Superior street. Dr. Long dealt out ague 
cures from a little frame house nearly opposite Bank 
street at first, but not long after from a stone house, 
that stood a little back from Superior street. The 
' Ox Bow, Cleveland centre,' was then a densely 
wooded swamp. Alonzo Carter lived on the west side 
of the river, opposite the foot of Superior lane. He 
was a great hunter; with his hounds he would drive 
the deer onto the sand spit between the lake and the 
old river bed, where they would take to the water, 
when Carter 's unerring" aim would convert them into 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. i 99 

Ara Sprague, who came in April of the same 
year (i 8 1 8), took a discouraging view of the situation as it 
presented itself to his. vision: " I arrived a few weeks 
after the first census had been taken. Its population 
was, at that time, but one hundred and seventy-two 
souls: all poor, and struggling hard to keep soul and 
body together. Small change was very scarce. They 
used what were called ' corporation shinplasters ' as a 
substitute. The inhabitants were mostly New Eng- 
land people, and seemed to be living in a wilderness 
of scrub oaks. Only thirty or forty acres had been 
cleared. Most of the occupied town lots were fenced 
with rails. There were three warehouses on the river; 
however, very little commercial business was done, as 
there was no harbor at that time. All freight and passen- 
gers were landed on the beach by lighter and small boats. 
To get freight to the warehouses, which were a quarter 
of a mile from the beach, we had to roll it over the sand, 
and load it into canal boats. The price of freight from 
Buffalo to Cleveland was $i a barrel; the price of passage 
on vessels $10, and on steamboats $20. 40 " 

39 " What I Remember," by John H. Sargent. — " Annals of the Early- 
Settlers' Association," No. 6, p. 12. 

40 "Cleveland When a Village," by Ara Sprague. — " Annals of the Early 
Settlers' Association," No. 2, p. 74. 



CHAPTER IX. 

BY LAKE AND CANAL. 

Lake Erie has played an important part in the history 
of Cleveland, and been of direct and continuous benefit in 
the development of her commerce, and the extension of 
her lines of travel. Frequent references to the early 
marine interests of Cleveland, have been made in the fore- 
going pages, and, with the arrival of the year in which 
the first steamboat of the northern lakes touched at her 
harbor — 1 8 1 8 — it is time to treat more fully of the incep- 
tion and advance of her shipping interests. 

The blue waters, that dance before the city's guarded, 
harbor to-day, were no less blue, and the foliage of the 
Forest City no less green, when, in 1679, La Salle, " the 
handsome, blue-eyed cavalier, with smooth cheeks and 
abundant ringlets, ' ' and Father Hennepin, with ' ' sandaled 
feet, a coarse gray capote and peaked hood, the cord of 
St. Francis about his waist, and a rosary and crucifix 
hanging at his side, ' ' set sail from the Niagara River, and 
pushed the famous ship " Griffin " against the unknown 
dangers, and into the unsailed water-paths of Lake 
Erie. By three names the lake was then known — the 
high-sounding Lac de Conti, of La Salle, the Erie Tejocha- 
ronting of the Indians who lived upon its banks, and the 
shorter Erie, with which the Franciscan friar compromised 
with the native term. 

The venerable priest has, himself, left this record of the 
building of that ship: " It was on the 22nd of January, 
1679, that we began to clear a place on the banks of the 
Niagara River, for the purpose of constructing a vessel, 
and on the 30th the keel was ready to be laid. 
On the day appointed to launch her, it was named the 
' Griffin,' and we fired three cannon and suno- the Tc 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Drum, which was accompanied with whoops and cries of 
joy. The Iroquois, who happened to be on the spot that 
day, were witnesses of the ceremony. We gave them F can 
de vie (brandy) to drink, and they also partook of our de- 
light. From that time, we quitted our cabin on the shore, 
and slept on the vessel, to be out of the way of insults 
from the Indians. We were at last ready to sail, our 
crew consisting in all of thirty-four persons, and the day 
of our departure was on the 7th of August, 1679." 

This forerunner of the fleets that plough the great lakes 
to-day was of forty-five tons burden. A figure, half eagle 
and half lion, carved in wood, adorned her prow. Five 
cannon made her safe from Indian attack. When 
launched, she was taken to Black Rock, near the site 
of Buffalo, where she received her finishing touches. 

She sailed out into Lake Erie at the appointed time, 
touched here and there for purposes of trade, only to 
frighten the natives aAvay and make barter with them 
impossible : reached the Detroit River, passed through 
to Lake Huron, and finally reached Mackinaw, which was 
then the great center of the western fur- trade. She loaded 
with a goodly stock of these goods, at a small island in the 
vicinity of Green Bay, and on the 17th of September, as 
night fell, fired her parting gun and sailed away into the 
heart of a coming storm. La Salle and his associates 
who remained for further explorations, saw her disappear 
in the gloom — and in that gloom she has been wrapped 
forever. No word — no hint of her fate has been given in 
all the years that have passed since then. No known man 
again saw her crew; no relic was cast upon the shore. 
She doubtless perished in that storm, and not a soul 
was saved to tell the tale. 

The entrance from the lake, at the point where Moses 
Cleaveland, in later years, surveyed the forests, on the 
present site of our fair city, may or may not have been 
seen or touched at by the bold Frenchman on his upward 
trip. If he did land here, he left no record of the fact. 
Early mention of the Cuyahoga, and some account of its 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



first white visitors, may be found in an earlier portion'of 
this work. 

When Cleveland was selected as the capital of the^Re- 
serve, the Cuyahoga emptied itself into the lake west 
of its present artificial mouth, while yet farther west 
could be seen the location of a still earlier bed, then 
only a stagnant pond. Across the river mouth ran a bar 
of sand, which, in the spring and fall, was torn open by 
the floods, but in summer rose so high that even the 
small schooners of the day had difficulty in passing in 
and out. Once inside, a fairly good harborage was 
found. 

The building of ships in Cleveland commenced at an 
early day. The ventures of Major Carter with the 
" Zephyr, " and of Levi Johnson with the " Pilot," 
have been already recorded. In 1810, Murray & Bixby 
built the " Ohio," of sixty tons. She was sailed by 
Captain John Austen, and afterwards became a part of 
Commodore Perry's fleet, but took no part in the great 
fight, being absent on other service. While the " Pilot " 
was under construction, another craft, the " Lady of 
the Lake," of about thirty tons, was being built by Mr. 
Gaylord, a brother of the wife of Leonard Case. This 
vessel was sailed by Captain Stone, between Detroit and 
Buffalo. The " Pilot " was kept busy from the first in 
the employ of the L'nited States, carrying army stores 
and troops; and touching at Detroit, Maumee, Erie, Buf- 
falo, and other points on the lake, as occasion required. 
In 18 1 5, Mr. Johnson commenced the schooner " Nep- 
tune," of sixty-five tons burthen; she was launched 
in the spring following. Her first trip was to Buffalo. 
She was afterwards engaged in the fur trade, in the 
employ of the American Fur Company. The " Pru- 
dence " was built, in 182 1, by Philo Taylor; and in 1826 
John Blair constructed the " Macedonian," and Captain 
Burtiss the " Lake Serpent." 

It was in 18 18, that the people of Cleveland, for the first 
time, saw a steam- vessel come to anchor before their 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



203 



city. 41 It was the famous, picturesque, and somewhat 
oddly constructed ' ' Walk-in-the-Water, ' ' — so named 
after an Indian chief. Her visit here was made on Au- 
gust 25th, on her way from Buffalo to Detroit, under 
command of Captain Job Fish, who had been an engineer 
for Fulton, on the Hudson. She was of three hundred 
tons burthen, could travel a steady eight or ten miles an 
hour, and accommodate one hundred cabin passengers, and 
a large number in the steerage. The people of Cleveland 
saluted her with a round of artillery, and several promi- 
nent citizens continued with her to Detroit. 

The ''Walk-in-the-Water" was constructed at Black 




THE ' 'WALK-IN-THE-WATER. ' ' 

Rock, and] launched on the 28th of May, 1818. As her 
engines were not of sufficient power to carry her against 
the rapids, \ the captain went ashore ; drummed up the 
thinly-settled country; collected twenty yoke of oxen; 
attached them to a line fixed on the vessel, and by their 

41 The " Cleaveland Register," under date of November 3rd, 181 8, says: 
" The facility with which she moves over our lakes warrants us in saying- 
she will be of utility, not only to the proprietors, but to the public. She 
affords to us a safe, sure, and speedy conveyance of all our surplus prod- 
ucts to distant markets. She works as well in a storm as any vessel on 
the lakes, and answers the most daring expectations of the proprietor." 



2o 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



aid and her steam, acting together, quickly pulled her up. 

She left Buffalo on her trial trip, on August 23rd. She 
made seven trips to Detroit the first season, each occupy- 
ing from nine to ten days. An early passenger 42 has 
left us an account of her launching, and his first experi- 
ences of travel by steam-boat: " In August, 18 18, I was 
present at Black Rock and saw the first steam-boat 
launched, that entered the waters of Lake Erie. It was 
called ' Walk-in-the- Water, ' and was a memorable event 
of that day. At this time there was no harbor at Buffalo 
of sufficient depth of water for a craft of that size, and 
owing to the crude manner of constructing engines at 
that time, she had very great difficulty in getting up the 
river into the lake, consequently she was obliged to wait 
for a ' horn breeze,' as the sailors term it, and hitch on 
eight or ten pair of oxen by means of a long rope or cable, 
and together with all the steam that could be raised, she 
was enabled to make the ascent. Sometimes the cable 
would break, and the craft float back to the place from 
whence she started." 

Mr. Howe relates his experience as a passenger: " I 
took passage from Black Rock to Cleveland on board the 
steamer 4 Walk-in-the-Water, ' and ascended the Niagara 
River through the aid of and assistance of that ' horn 
breeze,' before described. The usual speed of this boat 
was about eight miles an hour, without the use of sails, 
and made a trip to Detroit in about eight days. We ar- 
rived off Cleveland at near the close of the second day, 
under a heavy northwest gale of wind, and a heavy sea. 
At that time there was no entrance to the harbor, except 
for very small craft and lighters. It was soon discovered 
that the boat could proceed no farther against the wind, 
and could not put back without great peril. Finally all 
the anchors were cast, with the alternative of riding out 
the gale or going onto the beach, and I think the latter 
was most expected by all on board. The gale continued 

42 " Autobiography and Recollections of a Pioneer Printer," by Eber D. 
Howe; Painesville, Ohio, 1878, p. 20. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 20s 

for three nights and two days without much abatement, 
and on the morning of the third day, the passengers were 
taken ashore in small boats, among whom were the late 
Governor Wood, wife and child." 

The steamer ran successfully through the seasons of 
1819-20, and up to November, 1821, when she was driven 
ashore, near Buffalo, and wrecked. In a sketch of the 
life of Orlando Cutter, one of the pioneers of Cleveland, 
is found an incident in connection with that event. He 
went east in the fall of 1821, and on his return decided 
to exchange his former schooner experiences for an ex- 
periment with steam. In company with two friends, 
George Williams and John S. Strong, and some seventy 
other passengers, he went aboard at Black Rock, in the 
afternoon. The oxen were called into requisition, to get 
them over the rapids, ere they proceeded out into the 
open lake. In the night a furious gale arose, and Cap- 
tain Rogers, who was then in command, put back, but 
was not able to get into Buffalo Creek. He came to an 
anchor near its mouth. Mr. Cutter, who was very sea- 
sick, lay in his cabin below, little caring for further ex- 
periments with steam. Towards morning, the anchor 
gave way, and the career of usefulness of the " Walk- 
in-the- Water " was ended. She was driven ashore side- 
wise and lay easy on a sand beach, so that the passengers 
and crew reached shore without loss of life. 

Some further details of this exciting contest between 
steam and storm, were personally furnished the writer a 
few years ago, by the George Williams above referred 
to. 4y At the time of the narration, he was living in Cleve- 
land, of a venerable old age, but with mind and memory 
as clear as a bell. Mr. Williams said: "As she cast off 
her tow-line and moved unaided into the broad waters of 
Lake Erie, there was no anticipation of the terrible gale 
we were soon to encounter. The boat had a full com- 
plement of passengers, and a full cargo of goods, mostly 

43 " The Early Marine Interests of Cleveland," by James Harrison Ken- 
nedy. — " Magazine of Western History," Vol. II., p. 452. 



206 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



for western merchants, one of whom, Mr. Palmer, of 
Detroit, was on board with his bride. There was also a 
company of missionaries, several of whom were ladies, 
on their way to some western Indian tribe. As the winds 
rose, friends grouped themselves together, and as the 
storm grew more and more furious, there was great ter- 
ror among them. The young bride was frantic, shriek- 
ing and calling on her husband. The missionaries sang 
hymns, and devoted themselves to soothing the terrified. 
There was a Mr. Strong on board, a cattle dealer and 
farmer, after whom Strongsville, near Cleveland, was 






W&& 



WRECK OF THE " WALK-IN-THE- WATER. " 

named. He had in his saddle-bags the proceeds of a 
drove of cattle just sold at the east. Through the night 
and during the height of the storm, he lay in a berth 
near the companion way, his saddle-bags under his head. 
When asked how he could lie there so quietly, he noncha- 
lantly replied, if he was to be drowned he might as well 
be drowned there as anywhere. We lay tossed of the 
tempest, the big seas sweeping over us all the long night. 
Just as the first gleam of daylight appeared, our anchor 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 207 



began to drag. The captain, seeing the impossibility 
of saving the steamer, ordered her beached. With skilled 
seamanship she was sent broadside on. A rope was 
stretched from boat to beach, and the passengers were 
ferried to shore in the small boat. They reached it, 
drenched and exhausted, but all saved. Yes, of all on 
board then, I suppose I am the only one now living." 

Returning to the ship-building interests of Cleveland, 
we find Noble H. Merwin engaged in the construction of 
a schooner of forty-four tons, at the foot of Superior 
street. She was launched in March, i822. 43a Her chain 
cable was an article of home industry — one of Cleveland's 
first iron manufactures — and was made on the anvil of 
one Jones, a blacksmith. As a test of its strength, it was 
fastened to a butternut tree, and pulled upon by twelve 
yoke of oxen. Although it parted under the strain, it 
was thought strong enough for the uses to which it 
would be put. " When she was launched," says George 
B. Merwin, " I stood on the heel of her bowsprit, and as 
she touched the water, christened her, by giving her my 
mother's name, ' Minerva,' and broke a gallon jug of 
whisky over her bows, as was the custom on similar 
occasions in those times. She was dispatched to Mack- 
inac, loaded with provisions, for the garrison on that 
island, and made the round trip in four weeks, which at 
that time was regarded as a wonderful achievement." 

In 1824, the first steamship built at this port, was con- 
structed by Levi Johnson, in partnership with the 
Turhooven brothers. It was called the " Enterprise," 
and was about two hundred and twenty tons. Its engine 
was of from sixty to seventy horse-power, and was built 
in Pittsburg. Mr. Johnson, himself, commanded her, 
running between Buffalo and Detroit. When hard times 
struck the vessel interests in 1828, he sold her, and retired 
from the lakes. He aided in building only one more 
vessel, the " Commodore," which was constructed on the 

43rt This was the first vessel registered at Washington from the district 
of Cuyahoga, under the United States revenue laws. '^ 



2o8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Chagrin River, in 1830. From that date on, the building 
of lake craft was continued by various parties, as the busi- 
ness of the port required. 

The route, by which the early vessels entered Cleveland, 
via what afterwards was called ' ' the old river bed, ' ' was 
uncertain, because of the bars of sand which rapidly ac- 
cumulated at the mouth of the Cuyahoga. The people of 
Cleveland began to agitate an improvement, and naturally 
looked to the general government for relief. The appeal 
was not in vain, and, by an act passed by Congress on 
March 3rd, 1825, five thousand dollars were appropriated 
to the building of a pier at Cleveland. This ran six hun- 
dred feet into the lake, nearly at right angles with the 
shore, and beginning forty rods east of the east bank of 
the river at its mouth. This brought no relief, as the 
sand filled in as rapidly as before. Congress was per- 
suaded to appropriate an additional ten thousand dollars, 
and in 1827, Major T. W. Maurice, of the United States 
engineer corps, prepared a plan for permanent relief, 
which the government adopted. It was nothing less than 
the opening of a new and more direct channel, at a point 
where the bend of the river carried it near to the lake 
shore. A dam was built across the river, opposite the 
south end of the experimental pier, from which so much 
had been expected and so little came. When the rains 
came, the river rose, men with spades and teams with 
scrapers were engaged in abundance, and a trench dug 
across the isthmus from the river to the lake. With the 
first break into the outlet, the force of the water itself 
came into play, and the work was practically done. The 
next spring saw the commencement of the eastern pier. 
Eventually, both piers were carried back to the river, and 
also extended into the lake : Congress making successive 
appropriations for the work. By 1840, over seventy-five 
thousand dollars had been used in this work, but a good 
harbor had been secured. The mouth of the old river 
bed gradually filled up, and the bed itself was used as a 
place of anchorage and wharfage. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 209 



Cleveland not only saw her first steam-boat in 18 18, but 
her first newspaper as well. On the 31st of July, the 
" Cleaveland Gazette and Commercial Register " made 
its appearance. In its prospectus the promise was made, 
that it should appear weekly, but that promise was not 
always kept, sometimes ten days or two weeks elapsing 
between days of publication. It was edited and published 
by Andrew Logan, 44 was not large in size, and was man- 
aged with considerable ability while it lived, which was 
only during the year of its birth, or perhaps a little later. 

The second venture in Cleveland journalism resulted 
in the publication of a newspaper, that had a long and 
wonderful career, and exerted a powerful influence all 
through this section for more than sixty years. The 
first number of the " Cleaveland Herald " was issued 
on October 19th, 18 19, without a single subscriber, and 
under difficulties which might make even a modern pub- 
lisher quail. Eber D. Howe, whom we have already 
quoted, has told in a terse and graphic manner the story 
of that venture, and as direct witnesses are always to be 
preferred to hearsay narrators, I will allow him to 
speak for himself : "I commenced looking about for ma- 
terial aid to bring about my plan for putting in operation 
the ' Cleaveland Herald.' With this view, I went to 
Erie, and conferred with my old friend Willes, who had 
the year before started the ' Erie Gazette.' After due 
consultation and deliberation, he agreed to remove his 
press and type to Cleveland after the expiration of the 
first year in that place. So, on the 19th of October, 
1 8 19, without a single subscriber, the first number of 
the ' Cleaveland Herald ' was issued. Some of the diffi- 
culties and perplexities now to be encountered may here 

44 " The ' Register ' had been put in operation by Andrew Logan, who 
brought his press and type from Beaver, Pa. , which were so badly worn 
(nearly down to the third nick, as printers say), that the impressions were 
nearly illegible. Mr. Logan was a very small man, of a very dark com- 
plexion, and was, by some, said to be a lineal descendant of the famous 
Mingo chief. The ' Register ' was discontinued a few months after the 
establishment of the ' Herald.' " — Eber D. Howe, in " Autobiography and 
Recollections of a Pioneer Printer." 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



be mentioned, as matters of curiosity to the present gener- 
ation. Our mails were then all carried on horse-back. 
We had one mail a week from Buffalo, Pittsburg-, Co- 
lumbus, and Sandusky. The paper, on which we printed, 
was transported in wagons from Pittsburg, and at some 
seasons the roads were in such condition that it was im- 
possible to procure it in time for publication days. Ad- 
vance payments for newspapers at that time were never 
thought of. In a few weeks our subscription list amounted 
to about 300, at which point it stood for about two years, 
with no very great variation. These were scattered all over 
the Western Reserve, except in the County of Trumbull. 
In order to extend our circulation to its greatest capacity, 
we were obliged to resort to measures and expedients 
which would appear rather ludicrous at the present day. 
For instance, each and every week, after the paper had 
been struck off, I mounted a horse, with a valise, filled 
with copies of the ' Herald,' and distributed them at the 
doors of all subscribers between Cleveland and Painesville, 
a distance of thirty miles, leaving a package at the latter 
place ; and on returning diverged two miles to what is 
known as Kirtland Flats, where another package was left 
for distribution, which occupied fully two days. I fre- 
quently carried a tin horn to notify the yeomanry of the 
arrival of the latest news, which was generally forty days 
from Europe and ten days from Xew York. This serv- 
ice was performed through the fall, winter, and spring, 
and through rain, snow, and mud, with onlv one addi- 
tional charge of fifty cents on the subscription price ; and 
as the number of papers thus carried averaged about 
sixty, the profits may be readily calculated." Ua 

At the end of two years of this hard and trying labor, 
Mr. Howe ceased his connection with the ' ' Herald, ' ' and 
Mr. Willes continued its publication. For some thirteen 
years it occupied the journalistic field without a rival. 

The decade from 18 10 to 1820, was one of quiet but steady 
growth for Ohio, her population doubling in that time, 

44fl Autobiography of Eber D. Howe, p. 23. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



and reaching over a half million at the date last named. 
Cheap land and a fruitful soil, with the hopeful attraction 
of a promising future, had invited a steady immigration 
from the east. The Erie Canal had stimulated a desire 
for a direct connection between Lake Erie and the Ohio 
River: in 1820, the first legislative steps toward that end 
were taken. Cleveland felt the reviving and encouraging 
effects of this general advance in the State, and although 
she was not to emerge, for some years, from the uncer- 
tain prospects of villagehood, we find evidences, here and 
there, of her ambition toward larger things. 

Cleveland had, in her earlier days, the same crude 
forms of transportation, and the same difficulties to face, 
as confronted her pioneer neighbors everywhere, except 
that the lake gave her vessel facilities in one direction, 
and the Cuyahoga River in another. Overland freight 
came in winter by sleighs, and in summer on a huge 
vehicle called a" Pennsylvania," or " Conestoga" wagon, 
which had to be put together solidly, and well provided 
with strong horses, to overcome the difficulties of the 
pioneer roads. 

As compared with other means of travel, the stage-coach 
was the palace car of its day. Cleveland took a long stride 
upward, when, in 1820, a stage line connected her with 
Columbus: in the autumn, another joined her to Nor- 
walk. Wagon lines were established, at about the same 
time, to Pittsburg and Buffalo. The conveyance in 
which passengers to Pittsburg rode has been described 
to the writer, as "a canvas top, set solidly on a springless 
wagon, with three plain boards for seats." Passengers 
by stage-coach, in summer, had a comparatively easy time, 
but in the spring or fall their lot was often one of trouble. 
c< The traveler," says an early account, ''was sure to be 
called on to go on foot a large portion of the time, and 
was often expected to shoulder a rail and carry it from 
mudhole to mudhole to pry out the vehicle in which he 
was, in theory, supposed to be riding." 

In 1823, a movement was set on foot for the improve- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



ment of the public highways. The State directed the 
laying out of a " free road " from Cleveland to the Ohio 
River, in Columbiana County. A movement was made 
in the same year to turnpike the stage-road running to 
the southwest, and as a result the Wayne, Medina & Cuy- 
ahoga Turnpike Company came into being and did good 
work, making one of the best highways in the State. In 
1824, another State road was laid out, running from Cleve- 
land along the line now known as Kinsman street, and 
out through Warrensville and Orange. With these wagon 
and stage lines, with the canal when opened, and with the 
facilities offered by the lake, the traveling public was 
compelled to content itself until the dawning of the great 
railroad era. 

In 1 8 19, Joel Scranton came to Cleveland, and soon be- 
came one of the prominent merchants of the place. He 
brought with him a schooner load of leather, well know- 
ing that he had something for which there would be a 

demand. In the same year 
came John Blair, from his 
farm home in Maryland, 
in the hope of gaining a 
fortune in the west. As 
a means toward that end, 
he carried three dollars in 
his pocket, but by a small 
and lucky speculation in 
pork, soon increased his 
capital, and before long 
opened a produce and com- 
mission store on the river. 
In 1820, Peter M. Weddell 
arrived, went into business, and soon made himself one 
of the leading commercial factors of Cleveland. Michael 
Spangler came also, and his " Commercial House " was 
for some years one of the landmarks of the village. 

It was in 1820 that Cleveland saw the organization of 
her second church society, and the commencement of a 




THE "OLD STONE CHURCH" OF 1834. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



2 '3 



line of religious work that has steadily increased and 
broadened, until to-day it is felt for the general good, in 
many directions. On the 19th of September of that year, 
a little company gathered in the old log court-house, and 
with a membership of but fifteen, organized the First 
Presbyterian Church of Cleveland. 45 Rev. Randolph 
Stone, pastor of a Presbyterian Church at Morgan, Ashta- 






ill 




f til 

1 i'i 








•^ ? 




if 




THE "OLD STONE CHURCH OF TO-DAY. 

bula County, had been engaged previously, by several 
residents of Cleveland, to give one-third of his time to 
this place, and upon the organization of this new church 
he became its minister. Services were conducted in the 

45 The names of these fifteen were : Elisha Taylor, and Ann, his wife ; 
T. J. Hamlin, P. B. Andrews, Sophia L. Perry, Bertha Johnson, Sophia 
Walworth, Mabel How, Henry Baird, and Ann, his wife; Rebecca Carter, 
Juliana Long, Isabella Williamson, Harriet How, and Minerva Merwin. 



2i 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

court-house for a time: then were held in the newly- 
erected brick academy building on St. Clair street. In 
1827, the society was legally incorporated as the " First 
Presbyterian Society of Cleveland," and at the annual 
meeting Samuel Cowles was chosen president, D. H. 
Beardsley secretary, and P. M. Weddell treasurer. The 
first building, the " Old Stone Church," was dedicated 
in 1834; was demolished in 1853, to make room for a new 
edifice, which was soon burned down. It was followed 
by the erection of the present structure, which has stood 
for years as one of the gospel centers of Cleveland. 46 

Another of those entertaining pen-pictures of Cleve- 
land, which have been so wisely and carefully gathered 
into that store-house of historical treasures, the "An- 
nals " of Cuyahoga's early settlers, has been drawn by 
Judge Rufus P. Spalding, 47 of the year whose record we 
have now reached: " In the month of March, 1823, I first 
saw Cleveland. I came from Warren, in Trumbull Coun- 
ty, where I then lived, in the company of Hon. George 
Tod, who was then president judge of the third judicial 
circuit, which embraced, if I mistake not, the whole 
Western Reserve. We made the journey on horseback, 
and were nearly two days in accomplishing it. I recol- 
lect the Judge, instead of an overcoat, wore an Indian 
blanket drawn over his head by means of a hole cut in the 
center. We came to attend court, and put up at the 
house of Mr. Merwin, where we met quite a number of 
lawyers from adjacent counties. At this time the village 
of Warren, where I lived, was considered as altogether 
ahead of Cleveland in importance ; indeed, there was very 
little of Cleveland, at that day, east and southeast of the 
Public Square. The population was estimated at four 

46 The seventy-fifth anniversary of the church was celebrated with ap- 
propriate ceremonies in 1895, commencing on Sunday, October 20th. A 
full account of these may be found in a work entitled : ' ' Annals of the 
First Presbyterian Church of Cleveland, 1820-1895. Being Sermons and 
Papers called out by the Celebration of her Seventy-fifth Anniversary." 
1895. 

47 "Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 1, p. 42. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



215 



hundred souls. The earliest burying-ground was at the 
present interseetion of Prospect and Ontario streets. 
Some years afterwards, in riding away from Cleveland, in 
the stage-eoaeh, I passed the Erie street eemetery, just 
then laid out. I recollect it excited my surprise that a 
site for a burying-ground should be selected so far out of 
town. The court that I attended on my first visit, was 
held in the old court-house, that stood on the northwest 
quarter of the Public Square. The presiding judge was 
the Hon. George Tod, a well-read lawyer and a courteous 
gentleman, the father of our late patriotic governor, David 
Tod. The associate judges of the Common Pleas Court 
were Hon. Thomas Card and Hon. Samuel Williamson. 
Horace Perry was clerk, and Jas. S. Clarke, sheriff. The 
laAvyers attending court were Alfred Kelley, then acting 
prosecuting attorney for the county ; Leonard Case, Samuel 
Cowles, Reuben Wood and John W. Willey, of Cleve- 
land; Samuel W. Phelps 'and Samuel Wheeler, of 
Geauga; Jonathan Sloane, of Portage, Elisha Whittlesey, 
Thomas D. Webb, and R. P. 
Spalding, of Trumbull County. 
John Blair was foreman of the 
grand jury." 

Judge Spalding's visit, this 
time, was only temporary. It 
was years afterwards that he 
became an honored citizen of 
Cleveland, where he remained 
until the close of his life. 
There arrived at about this 
time, however, a gentleman 
who became one of the busi- 
ness men of the village, and 

was soon recognized as an addition of which Cleveland 
had reason to be proud. This was Richard Hilliard, 
who was a moving spirit in his day, and gave to 
the young and struggling village a service of value in 
many ways. He was of New York birth, was well edu- 




R. P. SPALDING. 



2l6 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.* 



cated, and had spent some portion of his young manhood 
in school teaching. He went into business with John 
Daly at Black Rock, but removed to Cleveland, where, in 
1827, he purchased his partner's interest, and carried on 
the business alone. He was located on Superior street, 
where the old Atwater Building used to stand, and soon 
built up a large dry-goods and grocery trade. He formed 
a partnership with "William Hayes, and for some years 
the firm of Hilliard & Hayes carried on a profitable busi- 
ness. Feeling the need of better accommodations, Mr. 
Hilliard built a brick block on Water street, at the corner 
of Frankfort, moved into it, and extended his operations 
still further. In company with Courtland Palmer, of Xew 
York, and Edwin Clark, of Cleveland, he purchased a 
large tract of land on the flats, and aided in opening that 

part of the city to manufacturing 
purposes. In his labor in con- 
nection with the creation of 
Cleveland's system of water- 
works, as president of the incor- 
porated village, and as one of the 
promoters of the city's railroad 
system, he gave a service of 
great value. He died on Decem- 
ber 2 1 st, 1856, leaving a name 
which deserves the high place 
it holds in the history of com- 
mercial Cleveland. 

There were several other 
notable names added to the lengthening roll of Cleve- 
landers about this time. Among these were John W. 
Allen, Sherlock J. Andrews and David H. Beardsley. 
Each one became identified with public interests, and 
lived to see a great city grow up about him. The serv- 
ices rendered by Mr. Allen were conspicuously useful. 
He was born at Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1802, the 
son of a lawyer, who gave him a good education. He 
.came here in 1825, studied law with Judge Samuel 




JOHN \Y. ALLEN. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 217 

Cowles, and became a member of the Cleveland bar. 
From 1 83 1 to 1835. he was annually elected village 
president. In 1 841, he became mayor. He was 
elected to the Ohio Senate in 1835; sent to Congress in 
1836, and re-elected two years later. He was a Whig in 
politics; became the intimate friend of Henry Clay, and 
continued to act with that political organization until the 
formation of the Republican party, when he gave his ad- 
hesion to the new faith. In 1870, he was appointed post- 
master of Cleveland by President Grant, was reappointed 
in 1874, and resigned the forrowing year. We have 
already noted his appointment as one of the first commis- 
sioners of the State Bank of Ohio ; and at a later point 
will find him one of the moving spirits in the building of 
our first railways. Of him it has been truly said: " Mr. 
Allen was remarkable for the refinement and dignity of 
his face and person. > His manners were courteous and 
friendly. His heart was always open to the calls of be- 
nevolence, and his ready hand and timely aid secured the 
prosperity of many a young man who otherwise might 
have failed entirely. The early settlers of Cleveland, 
who knew him as one of the foremost and most dis- 
tinguished of our citizens, will recall the great debt of 
gratitude the city owes him, for his untiring, unselfish 
labors in its behalf, and will honor his memory as it de- 
serves." Mr. Allen died on October 5th, 1887. 

Sherlock J. Andrews came in the same year as Mr. 
Allen. He was a native of Wallingford, Connecticut, 
where he was born in 1 80 1 ; was liberally educated ; 
graduated from Union College in 1821; and came to 
Cleveland in 1825, where he commenced the practice of 
the law in connection with Samuel Cowles. He was af- 
terwards associated in the same manner with two other 
honored citizens of Cleveland, John A. Foot and James 
M. Hoyt. In 1840, he was elected to Congress, but ill- 
health compelled him to decline a renomination. He was 
elected judge of the Superior Court of Cleveland in 1848; 
in the next vear was chosen a member of the conven- 



2i8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

tion to revise the constitution of the State; and in 1873 
was sent to a second convention called for the same 
purpose. He rendered valuable service to the public in 
all these responsible positions; was a brilliant advocate, 
a model judge, a cultured, high-minded gentleman. He 
died at his home in Cleveland, on February 1 ith, 1880. 

David H. Beardsley, who was born, in 1789, at Xew 
Preston, Conn., and died in Cleveland in 1870, came to 
this city in 1826. He had previously lived at Lower San- 
dusky (now Fremont), Ohio, where he served as a judge, 
and a member of the Orno Legislature. In 1827, he was 
appointed collector for the Ohio Canal at this point. He 
continued in that position for a score of years ; the most 
of the commerce of Cleveland passing through his hands. 
So valuable were his services, that no matter how the 
political fortunes of those in charge of the public works 
of Ohio might change, he remained in his office undis- 
turbed. " His integrity," says one biographer, 48 who 
knew him well, "was the great feature of his character. 
During all those years that he transacted the business of 
the State, and in the numerous accounts rendered by him, 
which amounted to thousands, and in the amount of 
money collected to about $1,400,000, not an error, either 
large or small, was ever detected in his accounts. Hav- 
ing remained many years in his office, and feeling finally 
that some other business would be more congenial to 
him, he voluntarily retired." Mr. Beardsley afterwards 
rendered Cleveland valuable service in connection with 
the public water-works, and as one of the sinking fund 
commissioners . 

A new era lay just before the Cleveland of 1824; and 
the year that followed was, in one sense, the turning point 
in the fortunes of the city. Many signs of progress had 
been shown during the decade that had just ended, but 
none of them guaranteed anything beyond a continuation 
of the same modest village-hood that marked a half-dozen 

48 " Life and Character of David H. Beardsley," by Hon. J. P. Bishop. — 
" Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 2, p. 47. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 219 



rivals and neighbors along the shore of the lake. Stage- 
coaches made the town a point of stoppage ; the mails 
came with due regularity; two churches had been estab- 
lished; there was one live newspaper, and the remains of 
another that had departed. The seat of justice and the 
jail were here yet, but Newburg had by no means given 
up hope of securing them both. In lake traffic the town 
was fairly represented, but Grand River, Black River, and 
Conneaut Creek were by no means certain that their future 
was less brilliant than that of ^ie Cuyahoga. Forests 
and wild country lay all about her; the logging bee 
was still a regular social feature out on the Euclid 
road; stumps, and briars, and underbrush, were among 
the things that yet adorned portions of the Public 
Square. 

The real growth of the city commenced, only, after the 
building of the Ohio Canal. The modern traveler, who 
comes down to the foot of South Water street, in a rail- 
road car, may not realize that beneath the rails, over 
which he passes, lies the bed of what was once the central 
artery of Cleveland's traffic and travel. 

The canal was, at one time, the main topic discussed by 
those who advocated internal improvements, and occu- 
pied the public attention as fully as did the railroad at a 
later date. 

With the powers of steam but little known, it was nat- 
ural that this should be the case. The benefits obtained 
by use of the natural waterways, led men of a pro- 
gressive and inquiring turn of mind to ask themselves : 
Why not take a hint from nature, and pattern ourselves 
upon her model? If she has given us the Rhine, the 
Thames, the Mississippi, why cannot we have our artifi- 
cial rivers of water, to join those cities and aid those in- 
terests for which she has done so little? All countries 
cannot be Holland, nor all cities Venice, but leaves can 
be taken from the book of experience recorded by each. 
So they set themselves to work ; and how well they suc- 
ceeded, can be read, somewhat, by the results produced 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



before the days of canal decadence, near the middle of the 
present century. 

The real era of modern canal building may be said to 
have opened in England about 1761, when the Duke of 
Bridgewater presented a petition for a bill that would per- 
mit the construction of the great canal that bears his 
name. By 1823, the canals of the United Kingdom had 
reached a total length of 2,682^ miles, and the cost had 
reached over thirty million pounds sterling. 

The matter received^erious consideration upon this 
side of the sea at an early date. It would be difficult to 
name any one person to whom belongs the honor of orig- 
inating the canal system of America. General Philip 
Schuyler, who won distinction in the Revolutionary Army, 
was certainly one of the original movers in that direction, 
and contributed much toward the bringing about of im- 
portant results. In 1 761, he was sent to England upon 
public business, and while there examined the Bridge- 
water Canal, which had been recently completed. Upon 
his return home he dwelt with enthusiasm upon the sub- 
ject, and naturally cast about for directions in which a 
like enterprise, and a similar triumph of engineering, 
could be made to redound to the credit and good of 
America. It was not long before he suggested an artificial 
connection between Lake Champlain and the Hudson 
River. 

The great war came on, and during it and the period of 
recuperation of energy and finances that followed, not 
even so earnest a canal disciple as Schuyler, could find 
the heart to suggest much beyond an occasional note, 
that the matter might not be lost sight of altogether. 
Others had ere this given the theme an attention not 
wholly of a speculative character, and among these was 
Elkanah Watson, who paid a visit to Mount Vernon in 
1785, where he " found the mind of Washington engaged 
in a project for connecting the waters of the Potomac 
with those west of the Alleghany Mountains, by a canal, 
in order to divert the extensive fur trade from Detroit 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



to Alexandria, which was then almost exclusively en- 
joyed by Montreal." The result was a renewed inter- 
est and energy on the part of Watson, and the production 
of some practical results. 

In 1788, Watson proceeded to the head of navigation 
on the Mohawk River, at Fort Schuyler (now Rome), New 
York, and was there impressed with the feasibility of an 
artificial water connection between the Hudson River — 
which meant a direct route to the ocean — and Lake On- 
tario, which would open the whole basin of the great 
lakes, by the following route : A canal from Wood Creek 
to Oneida Lake, and thence down the Onondaga River 
to Oswego, on Lake Ontario. 

The idea was slowly but surely worked out through cal- 
culations, conferences with General Schuyler and other 
enthusiasts, and the sounding of the opinions of those 
by whose private capital any such undertaking must be 
achieved. By 1792, public and private opinion had ar- 
rived at a point to permit the taking of a definite step. 
Accordingly, the Legislature of New York passed an act 
by which two companies were chartered — the Western 
Inland Lock Navigation Company and the Northern In- 
land Lock Navigation Company. General Schuyler was 
made president of both these organizations. 

Both proposed routes were explored and work upon 
them commenced in 1793. The western canal was never 
completed, according to its original design, but a greater 
than it was opened to commerce along the same route at 
a later day. Gouverneur Morris was one of the inspiring 
spirits that carried forward the work begun by Schuyler 
and Watson. It was largely by his influence that New 
York was led, in 18 10, to appoint a board of canal commis- 
sioners, of which he was made chairman; and the work, 
which ended in the completion of the great Erie Canal, 
was practically commenced and thence pushed with no 
hesitation as to the amount of energy, toil and money 
needed for the completion of the task. 

L^pon the appointment of the canal commissioners of 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



New York, above referred to, they found an efficient and 
able ally in DeWitt Clinton, who, with others, was ap- 
pointed in 1812 to lay the matter of the proposed canal 
before the general government, with a view that Con- 
gress should undertake it as a national work. The sug- 
gestion was not adopted ; while the declaration of war with 
England delayed the pushing of the enterprise by the 
State, the party most interested in the results. When 
Clinton was elected governor in 18 16, he found his occa- 
sion, and made the most able and earnest use of the 
power and influence thus placed in his hands. He worked 
day and night, was zealous in season and out of season, 
and saw the great enterprise not only commenced but 
completed and dedicated forever to the public use. The 
cost of the canal was $7,602,000, all of which was borne 
by the State of New York. 

This experiment, upon the part of New York, and its 
successful conclusion, naturally had its effect upon other 
sections of the country. Ohio was especially interested, 
and the first steps toward a like system were taken before 
the completion of the New York enterprise. Legislation 
was had, as early as 1820, looking towards the construc- 
tion of a canal to connect Lake Erie and the Ohio River. 
On January 31st, 1822, a law was passed by the State 
Legislature authorizing an examination into the practica- 
bility of the scheme, and the commissioners named in the 
act for the carrying out of that measure were Benjamin 
Tappan, Alfred Kelley, Thomas Worthington, Ethan A. 
Brown, Jeremiah Morrow, Isaac Minor, and Ebenezer 
Buckingham. After the preliminary steps had been 
taken, Mr. Kelley and Micajah T. Williams were made 
acting commissioners, and the canals were constructed 
under their direct control. With full credit to all others 
who had a part in the work, it can be truthfully said that 
no words can overestimate the part Mr. Kelley had there- 
in. The following pertinent quotation tells the tale: 

" The Ohio Canal is a monument to the enterprise, 
energy, integrity and sagacity of Alfred Kelley. He was 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 223 

acting commissioner during its construction, and the oner- 
ous and responsible service was performed with such fidel- 
ity and economy that the actual cost did not exceed the 
estimate. The dimensions of the Ohio Canal were the 
same as those of the Erie Canal of New York, but the num- 
ber of locks was nearly double. The Erie Canal is 363 
miles in length, and its total cost was $7, 143,789, or cost per 
mile, $19,679. The Ohio Canal is 307 miles in length; its 
total cost was $4,695,824, or cost per mile, $15,300, being 
less than that of any other canal constructed on this conti- 
nent. The Ohio Canal was finished about 1830. The 
labor, with the facilities then existing for the conducting 
of public enterprise, was Herculean, but Mr. Kelley 's in- 
domitable will and iron constitution and physique tri- 
umphed over all difficulties. Mr. Kelley neither charged 
nor received any pay for his first year's services in super- 
intending the preliminary explorations and surveys for 
the Ohio Canal, and while engaged in the great labor of 
building the canal, received only a salary of three dollars 
per day. Surely, it was not the money he worked for! " 

The commissioners, abo\ r e named, set themselves earn- 
estly to the great work they had in hand. They employed 
James Geddes, of Onondaga County, New York, as engi- 
neer, and he arrived at Columbus, the State Capital, in June, 
1822. He began an examination of the various proposed 
routes, ably assisted by Mr. Kelley and his staff, and con- 
tinued it during the whole of 1823-24; and in 1825 the route 
was established. It was to commence at Cleveland and end 
at Portsmouth, on the Ohio River, a distance of three hun- 
dred and fifty miles. The personal preference of Mr. Kel- 
ley naturally had considerable to do with giving Cleveland 
the wonderful advantage which this decision secured. 

When everything was ready for the opening of the work, 
preparations were made for an inauguration in keeping 
with the greatness of the event. An invitation was extended 
to DeWitt Clinton to be present and break ground at the 
spot designated for the commencement, on Licking sum- 
mit, some three miles west of Newark, in Licking County. 



224 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

The date set for the ceremony was July 4th, 1825. 

Governor Clinton accepted the invitation, and stated 
that he would reach Cleveland on the last day of June. 

Extensive preparations were made for his arrival. It 
was not known whether he would come by stagecoach or 
boat. When the first named means of conveyance arrived 
without him, all Cleveland went down to the bluff to watch 
for the " Superior," which was then due. The story of 
his arrival and reception has been told by an eye-witness 49 
in a manner that cannot be improved upon, so I give 
it in full: " It was a heavenly day, not a cloud in the 
sky, the lake calm as the river, its glistening bosom re- 
flecting the fierce rays of an almost tropical sun ; she [the 
' Superior'] soon passed Water street, dressed with all her 
flags, and came to anchor about a mile opposite the mouth 
of the river, and fired her usual signal gun. Her com- 
mander, Captain Fisk, ordered the steps to be let down 
and her yawl boat to be placed alongside of them; then, 
taking Governor Clinton by the hand, seated him in the 
stern of the boat, and was followed by his aids, Colonel 
Jones, Colonel Read, and Colonel Solomon Van Renssel- 
aer, who had traversed the State when a wilderness, as an 
officer, under General Wayne ; Messrs. Rathbone and 
Lord, who had loaned us the money with which to com- 
mence the canal, and Judge Conkling, United States Dis- 
trict Judge, of New York. They came up the river, the 
Stars and Stripes waving over them, and landed at the foot 
of Superior street, where the reception committee with 
carriages and a large concourse of citizens awaited them 
and took them to the Mansion House, then kept by my 
father, where Governor Clinton was addressed by the 
late Judge Samuel Cowles, who had been selected by the 
committee to make the reception address. Governor Clin- 
ton made an eloquent reply. In a part of his remarks he 
made the statement, ' that when our canals were made, 
even if they had cost five million dollars, they would be 

49 " Governor Clinton and the Ohio Canal," by George B. Merwin, — 
" Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 6, p. 38. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 225 



worth three times that sum ; that the increased price of 
our productions, in twenty years would be worth five 
million of dollars ; that the money saved on the transpor- 
tation of goods, to our people, during the same period, 
would be five million of dollars, and that the canals would 
finally pay their tolls, refund their entire cost, principal 
and interest.' DeWitt Clinton was a man of majestic 
presence. In his person he was large and robust, his 
forehead high and broad, his hair black and curly, and his 
eyes large, black and brilliant, and, take him all in all, 
looked as though he was born to command." 

The inauguration was accompanied by appropriate cere- 
monies, Governor Clinton himself turning the first spade- 
ful of earth. The work of construction was pushed rapid- 
ly forward, and the canal was ready for practical naviga- 
tion, as far south as Akron, by mid-summer of 1827. 

The formal opening was marked by the. usual festivi- 
ties, which occurred in July — one account says on the 
4th, but Mr. Merwin places it on the 7th. The two north- 
ernmost locks, which connected the canal with the Cuya- 
hoga at Cleveland, were not completed, and the question 
arose as to how a boat from this end of the line could be 
got past the locks, and go southward to meet one coming 
from the other way. 

Active Noble H. Merwin found a way of solving that 
difficulty. He had gone to Buffalo, purchased the canal 
boat " Pioneer," had it towed to Cleveland, and taken 
up the river to a convenient point, where teams hauled it 
over the bank into the canal. A party of leading citizens 
went aboard, and the boat was soon on its way toward 
Akron. They soon met the "Allen Trimble" — so 
named in honor of the governor of the State, who was 
aboard, as were also the State canal commissioners, and 
other prominent officials. 

Salutes were fired, flags flung to the breeze, speeches 
made, and a day of genuine rejoicing indulged in. Both 
boats came back to Cleveland, where a banquet was 
served under a bower at the Mansion House, followed by 



226 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

a grand ball in the evening, where Sherlock J. Andrews 
and John W. Allen served with C. M. Giddings, H. H. 
Sizer and William Lemon as managers. 50 

In a business way, the effect of this new water highway 
was immediate and beneficial. It made Cleveland the 
principal place in Ohio, on Lake Erie, and enlarged the 
possibilities of lake travel and freightage by providing a 
means of carriage into the State, and on to the south by 
means of the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers. A large 
section of country was provided with an outlet for grain 
and produce hardly marketable before, 51 and general 
business received a marked stimulus. Cleveland had 
secured a great advantage over all her rivals, and settlers 
and capital came to her in a steadily increasing stream. 

There was one result, immediate in its nature, which 
had not been anticipated, and that for a time bade fair to 
do the city great harm. In July and August a severe 
epidemic of typhoid fever swept over Cleveland, and it was 
charged to the malaria arising from digging the canal 
basin. Seventeen deaths occurred in less than two 
months. " A terrible depression of spirits and stagnation 
of business ensued," writes Ara Sprague, in the com- 
munication from which we have already quoted. " The 
whole corporation could have been bought for what one 
lot would now cost on Superior street. For two months 
I gave up all business ; went from house to house to look 
after the sick and their uncared-for business. People were 
generally discouraged and anxious to leave." 

50 Statement made by Mrs. George B. Merwin: " The completion of 
the Ohio Canal was celebrated by a great ball at the Mansion House, kept 
by James Belden. I attended with my parents and sat awhile in the lap 
of Gov. Allen Trimble, who had honored the occasion by his presence. It 
took all the men, women and children in the village who danced, to make 
enough for a set of contradances, or quadrilles." — " Annals of the Early 
Settlers' Association," No. i, p. 73. 

51 The canal was completed through to the Ohio River in 1S32. In 
two years, thereafter, the freight carried upon it amounted to half a mil- 
lion bushels of wheat, a hundred thousand barrels of flour, a million 
pounds of butter, with nearly seventy thousand pounds of cheese, besides 
a large amount of general merchandise. 



CHAPTER X. 

SOME YEARS OF STEADY GROWTH. 

The canal was well under way, but not yet completed, 
when Cleveland began to feel the need of enlargement in 
several directions. She had awakened to the belief that 
metropolitan honors were within her grasp, and that it 
was the part of patriotism and good business judgment to 
live up to her opportunities. 

In the first place, it was generally agreed that the old 
court-house and jail were outgrown. The rude structure, 
down in one corner of the Public Square, had done well 
enough for the days of small misdemeanors and petty liti- 
gations, but now the larger affairs of a growing county- 
seat, needed better housing and greater protection. 

When the subject was first brought into discussion by 
the Cuyahoga tax-payers, the dormant ambition of New- 
burg was aroused, and the old claim put forward. The 
sturdy dwellers in that modern iron center had never 
given up their hope of earlier days; in their opinion the 
decisive time had come when the question ought to be 
settled for all time, and before any more public money 
was expended in CleA^eland. The battle was fought out 
to the end, and was the last one of which we shall hear, in 
the history of these two places that have now become one. 

There were three county commissioners by whom the 
question must be decided. One of them was removed by 
death, and it was found that the other two were equally 
divided, one favoring Newburg, and the other Cleveland. 
An election was held in 1826 to fill the vacancy. It was 
one of the hottest and most exciting that had as yet been 
seen in that section, all other issues being swallowed up 
in this great question. Dr. David Long, the Cleveland 
nominee, was elected by a small majority, and Cleveland's 
last struggle with Xewburg was won. 



228 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



The building was planned, and work upon it soon com- 
menced. It was located in the southwest corner of the 
Public Square. It was finished in 1828, and on October 
28th, of that year, court was first held within it. Here, 
the public judicial and administrative business of Cuya- 
hoga County was carried on for nearly thirty years. It was 
two stories high, of brick, surmounted by a wooden dome, 
faced the lake, and was entered by a half-dozen steps, 
front and rear. The lower story was divided into offices 
_ ___.^__ _, _^~ .. for use of the county officials, 

ii§S^f~jliB§£ ~::_ while the upper floor was 

~^r. :^giy pgr" r j. P^V used for court purposes. Two 
^H^^'lSi»^5P?^ or three years later a sub- 

~ f= sjSjS^fc^' »^&*£M&<^ s t an tial stone jail was erected 
WMh^^SB^SSSKK^^^Ki m the rear of the court-house 
^^JBIBbImBHI^^^^^ and across the street — a 
^M^K ^^^P ^^^^^H^K^ structure that, from its som- 
^^^^^^^^g^^ ^^^^y bre appearance, was usually 
* s:;! ^^~JBmS^BS^B^^ called "the blue jug." 

'^^'^ s ^ == Another advance step was 

THE SECOND COURT-HOUSE. , -, • ,-, • r 

taken m this same year, 1826, 
when arrangements were made for a larger and more dis- 
tant cemetery than the original burying-ground which 
was laid out, on Ontario street, in Cleveland's very early 
days, when David Eldridge's body was laid within it. 
Grounds were secured out where Erie street now runs, 
and the City Cemetery, as it was first called, was dedi- 
cated to its uses. The name was changed, afterwards, to 
the Erie Street Cemetery, and for many years it was 
Cleveland's chief place of burial. At first it comprised 
but two acres, but was afterwards enlarged to ten. Its 
first interment was in September, 182 7, when Minerva M., 
the daughter of Moses and Mary White, was laid away to 
her eternal rest. No regular register of the sale of lots, 
or even of burials, was kept before 1840, in which year 
the whole tract was replatted, and a complete record 
opened and kept up thereafter. 

It was in, or near, this year of many improvements that 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 229 

the well-known old Franklin House was completed, and 
opened its hospitable doors for the accommodation of the 
stranger. N. E. Crittenden came and opened the first 
jewelry store in Cleveland, occupying a small one-story 
brick building next door to the Franklin House. 

The first actual official connection of Cleveland and Cuy- 
ahoga County with the question of slavery, in any shape or 
form, which I have yet discovered, was formed in 1827, 
when the Cuyahoga County Colonization Society came 
into existence. It was a branch of the national organiza- 
tion — the Colonization Society — which had for its object 
the gradual removal of the colored people of America to 
Africa, the theory being that many slave-holders would 
free their bondsmen if assured they would be sent out of 
the country. Samuel Cowles was elected president ; Rev. 
Randolph Stone, Nehemiah Allen, Datus Kelley, Josiah 
Barber, and Lewis R. Dille, vice-presidents; A. W. Wal- 
worth, treasurer; James S. Clarke, secretary; and Mor- 
decai Bartley delegate to the national society. The meet- 
ing for the organization of the society was addressed by 
the Rev. William Stone. The movement was vigorously 
opposed by the advocates of an entire abolition of slavery. 

An added interest in church matters was felt during 
the same year, especially among those holding to the 
doctrines of Methodism. As early as 18 18, a class had 
been formed in Newburg, which passed through various 
trying experiences, and then went out of existence. 
Preaching under the auspices of this denomination com- 
menced in Cleveland in 1822, when the Rev. Ira Eddy 
established a place for services, as a part of the Hudson 
circuit. Among those who officiated at that time and a 
little later were the Revs. William H. Collins, Orin Gil- 
more, Philip Green, William C. Henderson, Robert Hop- 
kins, John Crawford, and William R. Babcock. In 1827, 
the first Methodist society of Cleveland was formed, in the 
shape of a class, under the ministrations of Revs. John 
Crawford and Cornelius Jones. The names of those who 
participated and thus laid the foundations of the First 



2JO 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Methodist Church of Cleveland, are as follows: Mrs. 
Grace Johnson, Andrew Tomlinson, Eliza Worley, Eliza- 
beth South worth, Joel Sizer and wife, Elijah Peet and 
wife, and Lucinda Knowlton. Mr. Peet became the 
leader. The Cleveland circuit, as it was then called, com- 
prised all of Cuyahoga County, with Lake, Geauga and 
Summit Counties, and a part of Ashtabula and Portage. 

Cleveland was made a permanent station in 1830, the 
Rev. George McCaskey becoming pastor. The society, as 
yet having no church building, used halls, school-houses, 
and the court-house, and continued to do so until 1 841 , 

when a structure was 
erected on the corner 
of St. Clair and Wood 
streets. The society 
continued to worship 
here until 1869, when 
a new stone chapel 
was erected on Erie 
street, near Euclid 
avenue; and in 1874 
the present fine stone 
church fronting on 
Euclid avenue was 
completed and dedi- 
cated. The church 
has had a wonderful 
many ways, and 




FIRST M. E. CHURCH. 



influence for good in Cleveland, in 
from the aid it has given in the formation of other socie- 
ties of the same denomination may well be called the 
main fountain-head of Methodism in Cleveland. 

The Methodist Church Society of East Cleveland was 
also organized in 1827. It remained a part of the New- 
burg circuit until 1858 ; and in i860 it was made a station. 
Its first church building was erected in 1836, and its sec- 
ond was dedicated in 1870. 

The beginning of two of Cleveland's greatest sources 
of wealth — coal and iron — came together, as it happened, in 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 231 

1828, although it was many years before either assumed 
any great proportions. John Ballard & Co. put their 
small iron foundry in operation in the spring ; and a little 
later Henry Newberry shipped, from his land near the 
canal, a few tons of coal. An attempt was made to intro- 
duce it as the fuel of Cleveland. A wagon load was 
driven from door to door, and its good qualities explained. 
" No one," says one chronicler, " wanted it. Wood was 
plenty and cheap, and the neat housewives of Cleveland 
especially objected to the dismal appearance and dirt-cre- 
ating qualities of the new fuel. Once in a while a man 
would take a little as a gift, but after the wagon had 
been driven around Cleveland all day, not a single pur- 
chaser had been found. At length, after nightfall, Philo 
Scovill, who Avas then keeping the hotel known as the 
Franklin House, was persuaded to buy some, for which 
he found use by putting grates in his bar-room stove. 
Such was the beginning of the coal business in Cleveland. 
The new fuel soon found favor for the small manufactur- 
ing and mechanical industries of the period, but it was 
long before the matrons of Cleveland would tolerate it in 
private residences." 

The ambitious village began to feel the need of a little 
more room for the extension and development of her many 
growing interests, and therefore, in December, 1829, legis- 
lation was secured at the hands of the general assembly 
which extended her boundaries. All the land " from 
the southerly line of Huron street down the river to a 
point westerly of the junction of Vineyard lane with the 
road leading from the village to Brooklyn, thence west 
parallel with said road to the river, and down the river 
to the old village line," was annexed. In February, 
1834, a second act was passed, which again extended the 
boundaries and added; "All the two-acre lots east of Erie 
street, the tier south of Ohio street, and a parcel at the 
southwest corner of the original plat, which was not 
originally surveyed or laid off. ' ' 

The first step in the direction of organized fire protec- 



232 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

tion was taken also in 1829, when the village purchased a 
" Fire Engine No. 3," of the American Hydraulic Com- 
pany, at an expense of $285. These are the figures given 
in the village records, although they do not exactly agree 
with those stated by John W. Allen in a published address. 
His story, as to the general circumstances attending the 
sale, however, may be relied upon, as he was a party 
thereto. " In the old village corporation," said he, 
" there was a president, recorder, and three trustees. 
The legislation was in the hands of the trustees and presi- 
dent. I happened, in the year 1828, to be one of them. 
Dr. Long was another. We thought it expedient to buy 
a fire engine, and we negotiated with Mr. Seelye for the 
purpose of purchasing a small engine. It was before the 
days of steam fire engines. We were about to make a 
contract with him for the engine, and were to pay him 
$400, $50 down and $350 in a note of the corporation. 
There was a set of men here who were hostile to the 
measure. They got up a meeting and talked pretty 
strongly, intimating that we had joined hands with Seelye 
to swindle the people here, and that we undoubtedly par- 
ticipated in the plunder. But we bought the engine and 
paid the $50 like honest men, and gave the note of the 
corporation for the balance. An election intervened the 
next spring, and we were all turned out, and a new set of 
men put in who repudiated the note. The note came here 
for collection, judgment was rendered, and those men had 
to walk up to the captain's office and settle the bill." 52 
A market soon followed the fire engine, an ordinance for 

52 This statement was made by Hon. John W. Allen, at the first annual 
-meeting of the Early Settlers' Association, in May, 1880. (" Annals," No. 
1, p. 61.) It seems to show that even a man of Mr. Allen's bright mind 
and vigorous memory cannot be depended upon for details, after the ex- 
piration of fifty and more years. Dr. Long was a member of the board of 
village trustees in 1828; Mr. Allen was not. Mr. Allen was on the board 
in 1829, and Dr. Long was president. This fact, taken with the records 
of the village as found in the city clerk's office, shows that the engine 
was ordered in 1829, at the cost we have above given. The returns of the 
election, to which Mr. Allen refers, show that he was correct upon that point 
— not a trustee who voted for the engine was returned the next year. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



2 33 



the regulation of the same being passed in 1829. The re- 
ceipts during the entire year following were but $27.50. 
The receipts for show-licenses, during the same year, 
amounted to exactly $5. 

The laying-out of new streets, preparatory to organiza- 
tion as a city, which was now but a few years off, went 
bravely on. In 1828, Orange alley, now known as Frank- 
fort street, was run between Water and Bank streets; 
Canal street, nearly as now known on the lower portion, 




'"■■■■' 



THE LEMEN HOMESTEAD, ERECTED IN 1 829. 

was laid out, and named, in 1829; in 183 1 , Prospect 
street, from Ontario to Erie street, also was laid out; 
Ahaz Merchant being the surveyor. It was, as before 
mentioned, at first called Cuyahoga street, but, before the 
entry was officially made, the name was happily changed 
to the one it now bears. 52a The following streets also 

5-2 a A specimen of Cleveland's early architecture is found in the Lemen 
homestead, shown in the accompanying illustration. This was built, in 
1829, by William Lemen, on the south side of Superior street, at its junc- 
tion with the Public Square. It was taken down, in 185 1, by Mr. Hoffman, 



2 34 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



were added to the growing map of Cleveland, in the 
years ■ named : In 1833, River street, from Superior 
street to Union lane; Meadow, Lighthouse, and Spring 
streets; in 1835, High street, Sheriff street, Middle street, 
Clinton street, Lake street, Lake alley, Ohio street, 
Rockwell street, and continuations of Prospect and 

Bolivar streets. 53 

The United States 
government added its 
contribution to the grow- 
ing importance by build- 
ing, in 1830, the first 
lighthouse in Cleveland, 
at a cost of eight thou- 
sand dollars. The work 
was done by Levi John- 
son, and the structure 
located on the bluff at 
the north end of Water 
street, at a point one 
hundred and thirty-five 
feet above the level of 
the lake. It has been 
since replaced by a more 




THE PRESENT LIGHTHOUSE. 



costly and elegant structure. 

who had leased it for a term of years, and the Hoffman Block was erected 
in its stead. In 1SS9, this latter building and site were leased to James 
Parmelee for the term of ninety-nine years, and in 1S91-2 the Cuyahoga 
Building of to-day was erected. The stone pillars which were in the 
Lemen cottage were used in the construction of a temple in Lakeview 
Cemetery. 

53 General Ahaz Merchant's connection with Cleveland seems to have 
been deserving of a more extended mention than is found in any of the 
published records. He was born in Connecticut, on March 21st, 1794, and 
became a resident of Cleveland in 181 8. He learned the art of the sur- 
veyor, and was, for a time, in the service of the .State, surveying school 
lands in Tuscarawas County. He laid out and helped build the horse 
railroad, elsewhere described, that ran to East Cleveland. He was county 
surveyor from 1S33 to 1835, and again from 1845 to 1S50. He did a great 
deal of engineering for the city and county prior to the employment of a 
city engineer ; was connected with the establishment of grades on Seneca, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



23s 



Among the arrivals of 1830, were Seth A. Abbey, who 
served for a number of terms as city marshal, and later 
as judge of the police court; and Norman C. Baldwin, 
who formed a partnership, in the produce commission 
business, with Noble H. Merwin. He was afterwards a 
member of the firm of Giddings, Baldwin & Co., forward- 
ing and commission merchants, who sent and received a 
large amount of business over the Ohio Canal. The firm 
also owned one of the first regular line of steamers to ply 
the lake. The line of boats and packets from Portsmouth 
to New York by the Ohio and Erie canals and the lake, 
was called the " Troy & Erie line," each packet carrying 
thirty passengers, and one hundred bushels of wheat. In 
later years, Mr. Baldwin was 
interested in the banking busi- 
ness and real estate. 

It would be an unwarranted 
discrimination, if, in this men- 
tion, here and there of the ar- 
rival of business and profes- 
sional men, none was made 
of the coming of a noble woman 
whose life-work in Cleveland, 
in various forms of usefulness, 
was blessed for the public good. 
Mrs. Rebecca C. Rouse lived a 
long and useful life in the city of her chosen home, 
and her memory long will be held in grateful re- 
membrance. The brief sketch of her life and labors. 




MRS. REBECCA C. ROUSE. 



Bank, Erie, Canal, and other streets ; engineer of the first improvement of 
the old river bed ; laid out the most important allotments in the City of 
Ohio ; while his similar work, upon the other side of the river, was very 
extensive. He was active in the building line, and erected the ' ' Angier 
House," later known as the " Kennard House." His title of General was 
gained through his official connection with the militia. He died on March 
28th, 1862. His sons, Aaron and Silas Merchant, were both well known in 
connection with the public history of Cleveland ; while one of his daugh- 
ters> Mrs. R. M. N. Taylor, and her husband, were noted, for some years, 
as hostess and host of the well-known hotel above named--in its time one 
of the best in the west. 



236 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

that follows, is from the appreciative pen of one who 
in her own field of labor has done much for Cleve- 
land's good: " At eighteen," writes Mrs. Ingham, 54 
" Miss Rebecca Cromwell married Benjamin Rouse, a 
young man in the business circles of Boston, Mass. In 
1825, they removed to the City of New York, where, 
under the lead of Arthur Tappan, she visited the byways 
and worst localities of the metropolis. Ir. time, both her- 
self and husband decided, upon the request of the Ameri- 
can Sabbath School Union, to go as missionaries to the 
Western Reserve, with residence and headquarters at 
Cleveland, O. After parting with friends, particularly 
those of the Delancy Street Baptist Church, they jour- 
neyed many days, arriving at this port October 19th, 
1830. At that time there was no village above the Public 
Square ; the population numbering one thousand. Euclid 
avenue was known as the Buffalo road, and Fairmount, 
the road to Newburgh. They stopped on that Sabbath 
morning at Merwin's Tavern, a frame building painted 
red, on the present site of Bratenahl's Block, Superior 
and South Water streets, the latter called, then, Vineyard 
lane. After breakfast, Mrs. Rouse asked the landlord if 
there were no places of worship in the village, and re- 
ceived for reply that a few Methodists were holding a 
prayer-meeting in the upper story of the house opposite. 
They crossed the street, and found present among other 
few, Mrs. Daniel Worley, Joel Sizer, and young Mr. 
Bump, the school-master. At this time, the Episcopal- 
ians had a small, wooden meeting-house, corner of St. 
Clair and Seneca streets, with organized parish services 
and Sunday school; here, again, female piety predomi- 
nated, there being but two male members. This was 
Old Trinity. During the week following her arrival, Mrs. 
Rouse gathered about her several good women for relig- 
ious work, at her own hired house, temporarily occupied, 
on Superior street, near the later Judge Bishop Block. 

54 " Women of Cleveland and their Work," by Mrs. W. A. Ingham, 
p. 17. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 237 

In a picture owned by Mrs. Rouse, their newly built home 
shows favorably as a white cottage, on the exact site of 
the present Rouse Block. The cottage has a face, appar- 
ently all windows, from the fact that the front room was 
used as a depository for the publications of the American 
Sunday School Union and Tract Society. This called 
forth the derisive remark from many male 'sinners,' then 
resident in our city, that ' there is more religion in Rouse's 
windows than in the whole village besides.' The names 
of those who constituted these early assemblies in Cleve- 
land were Mrs. Joel Scranton, Mrs. D. Worley, Mrs. Dr. 
Long, Mrs. Chas. Giddings, Mrs. Moses White, Mrs. Gab- 
berden, Mrs. Edmund Clark, Mrs. George Hoadley [sic], 
Mrs. H. P. Weddell, Mrs. John M. Sterling. From this 
gathering grew the Woman's Union Gospel work of Cleve- 
land, which now, under various forms, is a crown of glory 
upon the fair brow of our own Forest City. October 30th, 

1830, Mrs. Rouse had organized the Ladies' Tract Society 
of the Village of Cleveland, auxiliary to the parent so- 
ciety of New York, the leader being its representative in 
the homes of our people." 

There was one newly-arrived resident of Cleveland in 

1 83 1, who was not pleased altogether with what he ex- 
perienced, although he was compelled to confess that the 
place was fair to look upon. His personal view of various 
things is interesting, as he spoke with that confidential 
freedom that friend uses with friend. This was Milo H. 
Hickox, and these are the impressions he conveyed to a 
friend in Rochester, by private letter: 55 

" Cleveland is about two-thirds as large as Rochester, 
east side of the river, and is the pleasantest sight that you 
ever saw. The streets are broad and cross each other at 
right angles. The court-house is better than the one in 
Rochester; the rest of the buildings altogether are not 
worth more than four of the best in that place, and one 
room of a middling size rents for one dollar per month. 

55 " Sixty Years Ago," by Milo H. Hickox. — " Annals of the Early Set- 
tlers' Association," Vol. III., No. 1, p. 75. 



2 S 8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Everything - that we want to live upon commands cash 
and a high price. Mechanics' wages are low. Journey- 
men get from Sio to $20 per month and board; I get nine 
shillings and six pence per day, and board myself. I have 
the best of work. Now for the morals. There are be- 
tween fifteen and twenty grogshops, and they all live. 
There was one opened here last week by a man from 
Rochester. There is a temperance society, with ten or a 
dozen male members. The Presbyterian Church has four 
male members, Baptist six, Methodist about the same, 
the Episcopal is small ; they have a house, the others have 
not. The court-house is used at this time for a theatrical 
company, and is well filled with people of all classes. My 
health has not been good since we have been here. About 
four weeks since, we awoke in the morning and found our- 
selves all shaking with the ague. I had but one fit my- 
self. My wife had it about a week, every day, and my 
son three weeks, every day, and what made it worse, my 
wife and son both shook at the same time. I spent one 
day in search of a girl ; gave up the chase and engaged a 
passage for my wife to Buffalo, to be forwarded to Roch- 
ester. She was to leave the next morning. I was tell- 
ing my troubles to an acquaintance, who told me that 
he would find a girl for me, or let me have his 
rather than have my family leave, so we concluded to 
stay." 

Previous to 1831, that section of modern Cleveland 
which lies to the west of the river had received less con- 
sideration, at the hands of the settlers upon the eastern 
banks, than its importance and promise for the future de- 
served. We have had glimpses, here and there, of its con- 
nection with the general development, and a long step 
was taken in that direction in the year above named. 

When the fourth draft of the lands, under the auspices 
of the Connecticut Land Company, occurred in April, 1807, 
Samuel P. Lord and others drew the township of Brook- 
lyn, No. 7, in range 13. It was surveyed, in 1809, by Ezek- 
iel Hoover. Of the early conditions existing upon that 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 239 



side, Col. Whittlesey has said: 56 " On the west side of 
the river, opposite St. Clair street, where the Indians had 
a ferry, a trail led out across the marshy ground, up the 
hill past the old log - trading house, where there were 
springs of water, to an opening in the forest, near the 
crossing of Pearl and Detroit streets. In this pleasant 
space the savages practiced their games, held their pow- 
wows, and when whisky could be procured, enjoyed 
themselves while it lasted. The trail continued thence 
westerly to Rocky River and Sandusky. Another one, 
less frequented, led off southerly up the river to the old 
French trading post, where Magenis was found in 1786, 
near Brighton ; and thence, near the river bank, to Tink- 
er's Creek, and probably to the old Portage path. A less 
frequented trail existed from the Indian villages of Tawas 
or Ottawas and Mingoes, at Tinker's Creek, by a shorter 
route, direct to the crossing of the Cuyahoga at the ' Stand- 
ing Stone', near Kent. The packhorsemen, who trans- 
ported goods and flour to the northwest from 1786 to 
1795, followed this trail, crossing the Cuyahoga at Tink- 
er's Creek." 

Exactly when and where the first white resident of 
Brooklyn made his appearance, is not known. Most of 
the glimpses we have had of the forerunners of civiliza- 
tion upon the West Side, were caught down near the lake 
and about that part now known as Main and Detroit 
streets. There was, however, out near the present River- 
side Cemetery, a grassy slope running up from the Cuya- 
hoga River, which, even in late years, was known as 
" Granger's Hill." Here came, from Canada, one Gran- 
ger, who became a " squatter," but at what date is not 
certainly known. He was there when James Fish, in 
May, 18 12, became the first permanent settler of the 
Brooklyn Township of the later days. The stay of the 
squatter, however, was not long, as he migrated, in 181 5, 
to the Maumee country. 

James Fish came from Groton, Connecticut, having 

56 Whittlesey's " Early History of Cleveland," p. 475. 



2 4 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

purchased land of Messrs. Lord and Barber. He left home, 
in the summer of 1 8 1 1 , with his family stored away in a 
wagon drawn by oxen. He was accompanied by quite a 
company of pioneers, and spent forty-seven days upon 
the road. He passed the winter in Newburg ; early in 
the spring of 1 8 12, he crossed over to Brooklyn, erected a 
log-house at a cost of eighteen dollars, and in May took 
his family over and commenced house-keeping. In the 
same year came Moses and Ebenezer Fish, the last 
named serving as one of the militiamen guarding the In- 
dian murderer, whose execution in 18 12 has been else- 
where recorded. In 18 1 3, came Ozias Brainard, of Con- 
necticut, with his family; while in 18 14, six families ar- 
rived as settlers within one week — those of Isaac Hinckley, 
Asa Brainard, Elijah Young, Stephen Brainard, Enos 
Brainard, and Warren Brainard, all of whom had been 
residents of Chatham, Middlesex County, Conn. They 
had all exchanged their farm lands at home for those 
placed upon the market in this section of the New West. 
Their journey and reception has been described thus — 
with what warrant of exact truth Ave are not prepared to 
say: " All set out on the same day. The train consisted 
of six wagons, drawn by ten horses and six oxen, and all 
journeyed together until Euclid was reached (forty days 
after leaving Chatham), where Isaac Hinckley and his 
family rested, leaving the others to push on to Brooklyn, 
whither he followed them within a week. It appears that 
the trustees of the township of Cleveland, to which the 
territory of Brooklyn then belonged, became alarmed at 
the avalanche of emigrants just described, and concluding 
that they were a band of paupers, for whose support the 
township would be taxed, started a constable across the 
river to warn the invaders out of town. Alonzo Carter, a 
resident of Cleveland, heard of the move, and stopped it 
by endorsing the good standing of the new-comers, — ad- 
ding that the alleged paupers were worth more than all 
the trustees of Cleveland combined." 57 

57 " History of Cuyahoga County," compiled by Crisfield Johnson, p. 417. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 241 

Richard and Samuel Lord, and Josiah Barber, of the 
firm of Lord & Barber, above referred to, removed, as 
early as 18 18, to that part of Brooklyn which is now the 
west side of Cleveland. Brooklyn Township was organ- 
ized on June 1st, 1818, and originally embraced "all that 
part of Cleveland situated on the west side of the Cuya- 
hoga River, excepting a farm owned by Alfred Kelley." 
Major Lorenzo Carter and his son, Alonzo Carter, pur- 
chased lands on the west side soon after the survey, the 
son occupying the same and keeping tavern in the Red 
House, as it was called, opposite Superior lane. 

The first real boom in land speculation, upon that side, 
began in 1831, when an organization, known as the Buf- 
falo Company, bought a large tract in that section, laid it 
out into streets and lots, and began to push various im- 
provements forward at a rapid rate — with what degree of 
eventual success we shall discover some years later. 

Among the events of 1832, was the organization of a 
church in Newburg, which was Congregational in form, 
although attached to the Cleveland Presbytery. It came 
into existence at the residence of Noah Graves, under 
the direction of Rev. David Peet, of Euclid, assisted by 
Rev. Harvey Lyon. A temporary place of worship was 
fitted up in a carpenter's shop, and services were held 
occasionally under the leadership of Rev. Simeon Wood- 
ruff, of Strongsville. This organization became known 
in later days as the South Presbyterian Church. Timothy 
P. Spencer, afterwards a well-known citizen, one of the 
founders of the k ' Cleveland Advertiser, ' ' and later post- 
master of Cle\ r eland, became a resident of the village in 
1832. At a meeting of the trustees in June, the purchase 
of a hearse, harness, and bier, was ordered; Dr. David 
Long and O. B. Skinner being appointed to make the 
purchase. 

An approaching plague, of a severe nature, foreshad- 
owed the early and perhaps frequent use of these trap- 
pings of death. The cholera season, of 1832, is still 
remembered bv the older settlers of Cleveland and vicin- 



242 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

ity, more from the apprehension and dread that it caused 
than from its actual ravages in this neighborhood. 

The researches of medical science, at that early day, 
had not robbed this eastern plague of its terrors, so, when 
the alarm was sent through the west that death in its 
worst form of wholesale slaughter was approaching, the 
people of Cleveland, like their neighbors, were panic- 
stricken, and ready to resort to any measures for protection. 

Toward the end of May, an emigrant ship landed at 
Quebec with a load of passengers, and the cholera aboard. 
It spread over that city with great virulence ; moved up 
the St. Lawrence River; attacked Montreal, where its 
effects were fatal in most cases. A feeling of panic spread 
rapidly through all the lake region, as it was known that 
the march of the scourge, in that direction, would be cer- 
tain and rapid. 

The authorities of the village on the Cuyahoga acted 
with humane promptness. In the record book of 1832, 
under date of June 24th, occurs this entry: "At a meet- 
ing of the board of trustees of the Village of Cleveland, 
on the 24th of June, 1832, present J. W. Allen, D. Long, P. 
May, and S. Pease, convened for the appointment of a 
Board of Health, in pursuance of a resolution of a meeting 
of the citizens of the village on the 23d instant, the fol- 
lowing gentlemen were appointed: Dr. Cowles, Dr. 
Mills, Dr. St. John, S. Belden, Ch. Denison." 

John W. Allen was then president of the corporation. 
With wise energy, he set out to protect the citizens, and 
at the same time care for the helpless sick who should 
seek shelter in Cleveland harbor. In a communication to 
this new Board of Health, he said: " At a public meet- 
ing of the citizens of this village yesterday to adopt meas- 
ures in relation to the anticipated arrival of the Indian 
cholera within our limits, it was determined that a com- 
mittee of five persons be appointed, whose duty should be 
to inspect any vessels arriving here from Lake Ontario, 
or any port on the lake where the cholera does or may 
exist; to examine all cases that may be suspicious in 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 243 

their character, either on the river or in the village ; to 
examine into the existence of, and cause to be removed, 
all nuisances that may have a tendency to generate or 
propagate the disease. • • • And, also, that they erect 
or procure a suitable building for the reception of stran- 
gers, or others, who may be attacked, or who have not 
the proper accommodation of their own." An ordinance 
was also passed relating to the inspection of vessels, or 
the placing of them in quarantine. At a later date, Dr. S. 
J. Weldon and Daniel Worley were added to the Board 
of Health. In July, all quarantine regulations were 
abandoned. 

The story of that fated summer, in Cleveland, has 
been so graphically told by, perhaps, the chief actor 
therein (John W. Allen), that I will give his relation in 
full. 

1 ' The famous Black Hawk War ' ' was then raging in 
the territory which is now called Wisconsin, and in adja- 
cent parts of Illinois clear through to the Mississippi 
River. The Indians were all on the war-path. The gar- 
rison, at what is now Chicago, had been massacred, and 
every white man, woman, and child they could hunt out, 
murdered. With a horrible pestilence threatened in the 
east and at home, too, and a war of extermination in 
progress in the west, it may well be inferred the popular 
mind was in a high state of excitement. About June, 
General Scott was ordered to gather all the troops he 
could find in the eastern forts at Buffalo, and start them 
off in a steamboat in all haste for Chicago. He embarked 
with a full load on board the ' Henry Clay, ' Captain Nor- 
ton commanding, a most discreet and competent man and 
officer. Incipient indications of cholera soon appeared, 
and some died, and by the time the boat arrived at Fort 
Gratiot, at the foot of Lake Huron, it became apparent 
that the effort to reach Chicago by water would prove 
abortive. General Scott, therefore, landed his men, and 
prepared to make the march through the wilderness, 
three hundred miles or more to Chicago, and sent the 



244 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



1 Clay ' back to Buffalo. Captain Norton started down 
the river, having on board a number of sick soldiers. All 
were worn out with labor and anxiety. They hoped, 
at Detroit, to get food, medicines, and small stores, but 
when they got there every dock was covered with armed 
men and cannon, and they were ordered to move on with- 
out a moment's delay, even in the middle of the river, 
and did so, heading for Buffalo. Before the l Clay ' got. 
off Cleveland, half a dozen men had died and were thrown 
overboard, and others were sick. All believed there 
would not be men enough left to work the vessel into 
Buffalo, and Captain Norton steamed for Cleveland, as his 
only alternative. Early in the morning of the ioth of 
June, we found the ' Clay ' lying fast to the west bank of 
the river, with a flag of distress flying, and we knew the 
hour of trial had come upon us, thus unheralded. The 
trustees met immediately, and it was determined at once 
that everything should be done to aid the sufferers, and 
protect our citizens so far as in us lay. I was deputed to 
visit Captain Norton and find what he most needed, and 
how it could be done. A short conversation was held 
with him across the river, and plans suggested for reliev- 
ing them. The result was that the men were removed to 
comfortable barracks on the West Side and needed appli- 
ances and physicians were furnished. Captain Norton 
came ashore and went into retirement, with a friend, for a 
day or two, and the 4 Clay ' was thoroughly fumigated, 
and in three or four days, she left for Buffalo. Some of 
the men having died here, they were buried, on a bluff 
point, on the West Side. But, in the interim, the disease 
showed itself among our citizens in various localities, 
among those who had not been exposed at all from prox- 
imity to the boat, or to those of us who had been most 
connected with the work that had been done. The faces 
of men were blanched, and they spoke with bated breath, 
and all got aw T ay from here who could. How many per- 
sons were attacked is unknown now, but in the course of 
a fortnight the disease became less virulent and ended 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 2 4S 

within a month, about fifty having died. About the 
middle of October following, a cold rain-storm occurred, 
and weeks, perhaps months, after the last case had 
ceased of the previous visitation, fourteen men were 
seized with cholera and all died within three days. Xo 
explanation could be given as to the origin, no others 
being affected, and that was the last appearance of it for 
two years. In 1834, we had another visitation, and some 
deaths occurred, but the people were not so much scared."" 
To the above graphic description of a trying time, may 
be added the statement of another prominent Clevelander, 
made to the writer in person some years ago. This was 
Captain Lewis Dibble, 59 Avho simply tells a story in which 
he had a personal part. " I was here in the tAvo cholera 
scares," said he. "We had heard a great deal of it, and 
some marvelous tales were told of men walking alone the 
streets and falling dead, with others of the same char- 
acter. It was in 1832. I was on the schooner 'America,' 
and Mr. May asked me whether I would lay up or go on to 
Buffalo, where the disease was then raging. I replied 
that I would probably have to face it one place or another, 
and that it might as well be Buffalo as here. We accord- 
ingly went doAvn. We saAv a great many hearses going 
to and fro, and I must confess that things did not look 
pleasant. When Ave came back (to Cleveland), Ave found 
a guard on the dock, as the people Avere determined that 
no ships Avith cholera on board should stop here. The 
Avind AA^as Avell in the northeast, and Ave came in at a good 
pace. The sentry, a man named Marshall, caught sight 
of us, and Avhen he saAA- me he sung out 'Any sick?' I 
ansAvered that Ave had none, and he said it AA^as all right. 
• When the ' Henry Clay ' came in here on her 
way back from carrying troops up to the Black HaAvk 
War, she had a number of cases on board. There Avas 
great excitement, and many declared she should not re- 
main, some AAashinp; to 2:0 doAAm and burn her. I remem- 

59 " Personal Statement," by Captain Lewis Dibble. — "Annals of the 
Early Settlers' Association," No. 7, p. 56. 



246 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

ber her captain came up town in disguise, and stopped 
for a time at the tavern kept by Mr. Abbey. I entered 
the place once and saw him, but before I spoke to him, 
he gave me a look that explained the situation and led me 
to hold my peace. On one occasion water was wanted at 
the cholera hospital on Whisky Island, and no one could 
be got to take it there. My vessel was at the foot of Su- 
perior street. We took two casks to a spring near Supe- 
rior street, filled them, and then rowed them down the 
river to the point of destination. Word came in from 
Doan's Corners that Job Doan, the father of W. H. Doan, 
was down with it and needed help. A man named Thomas 
Coolihan and I agreed to go out and see him. We got a 
buggy and went to the Franklin House, where we waited 
a long time before a couple of doctors whom we expected 
came in. They then mounted another buggy and we 
drove out, the hour being quite late. We all four went 
in. The doctors looked at him, shook their heads, and 
going out returned to the city. He was in great agony. 
When we, the other two, went up to the bed, he took our 
hands, and by his look showed that he was in great pain. 
Captain Stark and a man named Dave Little stood over 
him, rubbing him all the time. It was no use. We re- 
mained about an hour and then returned to the city. An 
hour after we left, he died." 

The subject of a water supply, and of increased fire pro- 
tection, both came before the Cleveland public for dis- 
cussion, if not for very definite action, in the year 1833. 
In June, an act was passed by the Legislature incorpo- 
rating the Cleveland Water Company, with Philo Scoville 
and others as incorporators. They were granted the privi- 
lege of furnishing water to the Village of Cleveland, but it 
does not appear that anything was done for the accom- 
plishment of that laudable purpose. In March, 1850, this 
act was so amended as to extend their privileges; the 
company was organized, and some stock subscribed, 
but again nothing came of it; and it was some years 
before such active steps were taken that the founda- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 2 47 

tion of the great system of to-day was successfully laid. 

The purchase of Cleveland's first fire-engine, and the 
criticism of that action upon part of the village authorities, 
have been related in detail elsewhere. In 1833, a volun- 
teer fire-company. Live Oak Xo. 1, as it was called, came 
into existence, although there was no regular organiza- 
tion. The foreman was Captain McCurdy. Out of this, 
there grew, in 1834, a regularly organized company, called 
Eagle Xo. 1, of which McCurdy was also foreman. The 
organization of a regular department soon followed, and 
Xeptune Xo. 2, Phoenix Xo. 4, Forest City Hook and 
Ladder Company Xo. 1, and Hope Hose Company Xo. 1, 
were the component parts thereof; there was a Xo. 3, but 
it was composed of boys, and had no official recognition. 
In April, 1836, Cataract Xo. 5 was added. The first 
chief of the department was Samuel Cook, with Sylvester 
Pease as first assistant, and Erastus Smith as second as- 
sistant. The succeeding chiefs of the old volunteer 
department were as follows : 

Sept. 29, 1837, H. L. Xoble, chief; Erastus Smith and 
Jonathan Williams, assistants. June 14, 1838. T. Lemmon 
made chief. April 3, 1839, T. Lemmon resigned, and John 
R. St. John succeeded. June 29, 1840, J. R. Weatherly, 
chief; A. S. Sanford and X. Haywood, assistants. June 
19. 1841, J. R. Weatherly continued, with Thomas Well 
and C. W. Hurd, assistants. June 13, 1842, M. M. Spang- 
ler. chief; John Outhwaite and Zachariah Eddy, assistants. 
June 7, 1843, J°h- n Outhwaite, chief; Jacob Mitchell and 
W. R. Virgil, assistants. June 26, 1844, M. M. Spangler, 
chief; C. W. Hurd and Zachariah Eddy, assistants. June 
2, 1845, A. S. Sanford, chief; W. E. Lawrence and James 
Barnett. assistants. June 2, 1846, John Gill, chief; Joseph 
Proudfoot and James Bennett, assistants. June 19, 1847, 
M. M. Spangler, chief; S. S. Lyons and C. M. Reed, as- 
sistants. June 5, 1848, S. S. Lyon, chief; W. E. Lawrence 
and George Cross, assistants. June 22, 1849, James Ben- 
nett, chief; William Sabin and John R. Radclifl, assistants. 
June 4, 1850, M. M. Spangler, chief; T. C. Floyd and John 



.248 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Kilby, assistants. June 3, 185 1, M. M. Spangler, chief; T. 
C. Floyd and William Delany, assistants. June 15, 1852, 
JabezW. Fitch, chief; William Delany and John Bennett, 
.assistants. 

The City Council, in 1853, refused to set a time for the 
election of a chief, and for some subsequent time they were 
chosen directly by the people. General J. W. Fitch was 
followed by William Cowen, who, in turn, gave way to 
James Hill, who held the office until the breaking out of 
the war, when he was succeeded by Edward Hart. The 
latter was re-elected in 1862, but the law was once more 
changed, and the City Council elected James Craw. Mr. 
Hill was again made chief on his return from the war. It 

would, of course, be impossible 
to give all the changes that oc- 
curred in the make-up and 
leadership of the various com- 
panies in this long series of 
years, but we may glance at the 
constitution of the department 
in 1850, as follows: Eagle No. 
1 ; Forest City No. 2 ; Saratoga 
No. 3; Phoenix No. 4; Cataract 
No. 5; Red Jacket No. 6; For- 
est City Hook and Ladder No. 
1. Neptune No. 7 was organ- 
ized in 1853, and Hope No. 8 in 1852. When Ohio City 
was annexed, Washington No. 1 and Forest No. 2, already 
organized upon that side of the river, became respectively 
Nos. 9 and 10 of the Cleveland department. Alert Hose 
Company was organized in 1857, and Protection Hose 
Company in 1858. It is said that upon the breaking out 
of the war in 1861, fully two-thirds of the active mem- 
bers of the department answered the country's call for 
volunteers, which is a significant illustration of the char- 
acter of the men of which that old department of unpaid 
firemen was composed. 

The reorganization of the department came in 1863, as 




r f ' w-i ' 



JABEZ W. FITCH. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 249 

-will be shown when the events of that year are under con- 
sideration. It would not be just, however, to dismiss the 
old volunteer service without some recognition of its 
services, and the publie-spirited efforts and personal 
bravery of those having" its fortunes in charge. One citi- 
zen, who was acquainted with the whole subject through 
personal contact and personal knowledge, has borne such 
minute, expert testimony upon that point, that I cannot 
forbear reproducing it quite fully: " It was simply," 
says George F. Marshall, 60 "a concentrated man power, 
with willing hands and without horses or steam. It com- 
prised a goodly share of the young blood of the city — young 
men with more muscle than money — men strong of arm and 
fleet of foot — men who had no other purpose in ' running 
with the machine ' than a desire to do something worthy 
their manhood. Of those who did not belong to that volun- 
teer band w^ere Joel Scranton, Philo Scoville, Benjamin 
Harrington, Nathan Perry, Peter M. Weddell, George Kirk, 
Moses White, Erastus Gaylord, Dr. Long, Levi SartAvell, 
Daniel Worley, Melancton Barnett and many more like 
them, whose hearts were in the work, but were not fleet 
of foot enough to keep out of the way of the engine. 
Many young men who had not a farthing in combustible 
matter at stake, except what covered their backs or w^as 
at the washerwoman's, were the most active men in the 
department. They could work w r ith the same vigor to 
save the poor man's cottage from the flames as the rich 
man's palace; while on parade and drill days they w r ould 
march with a more stately tread, and run with greater 
speed, if they but knew their sweetheart was among the 
spectators. This young city was miserably poor in those 
early days, and she was small as well, while there were 
scattered here and there a pretty good lot of combustible 
dwellings and places of business which needed the super- 
vising care of a well-drilled fire department. The 4 ma- 
chines' w^ere well enough for those times, but they w T ere 

60 " The early Fire Department of Cleveland," by George F. Marshall. — 
" Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 9, p. 245. 



2 5 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

heavy to handle, while the streets, during one-third of 
the year, were nearly impassable, and the common council 
forbade the running of fire-engines on the sidewalks. 
The entire compensation to individual volunteers was 
rated according to the roll-call of the companies, who ap- 
peared at the six-monthly drills and parades each year — 
one dollar each, while the city orders were at a discount 
and protested for non-payment. The real service was 
performed for the honor and glory of the enterprise, as 
well as the fun to be had between times of hard work." 

We are further told that at the tap of the old Baptist 
Church bell, repeated in quick succession, the town would 
become alive with hurrying people, whether it were day 
or night. Among those most certain to respond to this 
call to duty were such sturdy and active men as Milo 
Hickox, J. L. Weatherly, J. W. Fitch, James A. Craw, 
E. C. Rouse, John E. Carey, Elijah Sanford, Jefferson 
Thomas, B. W. Dockstader, John Proudfoot, John Gill, 
B. L. Spangler, Jacob Lowman, C. W. Heard, Nelson 
Hayward, Samuel Mason, and many others. The facili- 
ties for obtaining water were not good, and limited " to 
four or five cisterns, located at street corners, the Ohio 
Canal, the river; and although there was a vast lake on 
one side of the city, the waters were never utilized for the 
purposes of the department. The cisterns or reservoirs 
were often out of repair and out of water, while some of 
the engines in trying for water from them were com- 
pelled to act like some of our modern political newspa- 
pers — they would throw nothing but mud." 

It was, also, in 1833, that yet another of the powerful 
church organizations of the Cleveland of to-day came into 
existence. On the 16th of February, of that year, the 
First Baptist Church of Cleveland was organized, under 
the pastoral care of Rev. Richmond Taggart. The ser- 
mon was delivered by Rev. Moses Wares, of Columbia, and 
the charge to the church by Rev. T. B. Stephenson, of 
Euclid. The newly-created society came into the fellow- 
ship of the Rocky River Baptist Association on Septem- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



251 



ber 28th, 1833. The first meetings were held in either 
that universally useful place of gathering, the old Acad- 
emy on St. Clair street, or the Court-House, until the erec- 
tion of their own place of worship on the corner of 
Seneca and Champlain streets. This was a brick struct- 
ure, the foundations of which were laid in 1834, the dedi- 
cation occurring on February 25th, 1836. The church 
cost thirteen thousand 
dollars, and was, at 
that time, considered 
one of the largest and 
most attractive in that 
section of the west. 
The society gained 
steadily in strength 
and usefulness ; and in 
1855 purchased of the 
Plymouth Congrega- 
tional Church a brick 
church building, on the 
corner of Euclid ave- 
nue and Erie street, 
where services were first baptist church, 1836. 

first held on April 8th. 

The Hon. John A. Foot, who passed a long and useful 
life in this city, was among the arrivals of 1833. He was 
a native of New Haven, Connecticut, and the son of 
vSamuel A. Foot, governor of that State, who, as a mem- 
ber of the United States Senate, introduced that his- 
toric resolution in reference to the public lands, which 
called forth the memorable Webster-Hayne debate. Mr. 
Foot was a graduate of Yale, and upon his arrival in 
Cleveland formed a law partnership with Sherlock J. An- 
drews, which continued until the latter was elected to the 
bench. In 1837, Mr. Foot was elected to the State Legisla- 
ture by the Whigs, and afterwards served as a member of 
the City Council, and was president of that body. He was 
elected to the State Senate in 1853. In his later years, he 




THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



was connected with various educational and reformatory 
institutions, and performed many useful labors for the 
good of mankind. He passed from life on July 16th, 1891 . 
Another notable accession, in the same year, came in the 
person of Thomas Burnham, one of the city's early busi- 
ness men. He was a native of Saratoga County, New 
York, and was for some time master of a freight boat run- 

ning from White- 
hall to Albany, 
on the Champlain 
Canal. In 1833, 
he concluded to 
abandon boat life, 
was married on Oc- 
tober 29th of that 
year, and on the 
same day set out 
with his young 
wife, and one hun- 
dred and fifty dol- 
lars, to try his for- 
tune in the then 
far west, in Ohio. 
The conveyances 
by which they 
reached their final 
destination were 
various in kind, 
and their journey 
illustrates some- 
what the common methods of travel in that day. They 
were conveyed by team from Glens Falls to Saratoga, 
where they took the cars to Schenectady. Railroading 
was then a primitive thing, and the line upon which 
they rode possessed cars fashioned like stage-coaches, run- 
ning on a strap rail, and drawn by three horses driven 
tandem. The Schenectady and Albany line was, at 
that time, employing steam power, but the new motive 




FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF TO-DAY 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 233 

power was not as yet used on the smaller roads. 

At Schenectady, Mr. and Mrs. Burnham took passage 
on a boat on the Erie Canal, and proceeded to Buffalo, 
where they embarked on the steamer ' ' Pennsylvania ' ' 
for Cleveland. The boat was a slow one, her fuel green- 
wood, and as she stopped at every port along the way to 
receive and discharge freight, four days and four nights 
were consumed in the passage. Soon after his arrival, 
Mr. Burnham took charge of a school on the west side of 
the river, in Brooklyn township ; Ohio City not having 
been created. The school building was located on the 
corner of Washington and Pearl streets, and among the 
pupils who attended were A. J. Wenham, Henry and 
Mark S. Castle, and Josiah Barber. Mr. Burnham after- 
wards entered business life, where he was very successful, 
and served as Mayor of Ohio City for two terms. 

A somewhat touching incident, connected with a fa- 
mous Indian chief and his visit to Cleveland, has been 
related by Harvey Rice 61 as occurring in this year, and 
will bear relation. " At the close of the Black Hawk 
War, in 1833," says he, " the chieftain, Black Hawk, and 
several of his band were taken, in the custody of a gov- 
ernment officer, to Washington as captives, to be dealt 
with as the authorities might decide. The captives, in- 
stead of being shot, as they expected, were kindly re- 
ceived, and lionized by being taken about town, shown its 
wonders, and then sent through several eastern cities, 
with a view to convince them of the invincible power of 
the white people. They were then returned, under es- 
cort, to their homes in the 'far west.' While on their 
return, the party stopped over a day at Cleveland, as re- 
quested by Black Hawk, in order to give him an oppor- 
tunity to visit the grave of his mother, who, as he said, 
was buried on the banks of the Cuyahoga. He took a 
canoe and proceeded alone up the river to the bluff that 
projects into the valley from the southeast corner of the 

61 Address by Harvey Rice. — "Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," 
No. 10, p. 301. 



*S4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Riverside Cemetery. Here he remained for an hour or 
more, in silent meditation, and then rejoined his com- 
rades with a tear in his eye, though it is said that an Indian 
never weeps. From the fact of this visit to the grave 
of his mother, Black Hawk, it may be presumed, was 
born on the banks of the Cuyahoga. ' ' 

There was another visitor to Cleveland in the same year, 
who represented the civilization of transatlantic countries, 
even as this unfortunate Indian chief represented the sup- 
planted and departing savagery of the west. Unlike the 
red visitor, he noted his impressions of the neighborhood 
and times, and the same have come to us in the form of a 
letter, which this John Stair, of England, wrote from 
" Newburg, county of Cuyahoga," on August 16th, 
1833. 02 He regarded Cleveland as "an increasing place," 
and "for the size of it, the prettiest town I have seen in 
America." He believed that its situation on the lake 
was so commanding, that it would soon be a place of great 
importance, and even then the inhabitants were beginning 
to have a taste for the fine arts, "so that a person who un- 
derstood drawing, music, etc., so as to teach it well, might 
make money apace there. ' ' Each letter that he mailed to 
England cost him twenty-five cents ; large turkeys could 
be purchased in the Cleveland market at fifty cents each ; 
fowls, one shilling ; roasting pigs, twenty-five cents; mut- 
ton, beef, pork, veal, etc. , from two to four cents per pound ; 
butter, nine cents, and cheese, six. Cows could be pur- 
chased for from ten to twenty-five dollars each, and horses 
from thirty to one hundred. " This is a poor man's coun- 
try," he adds, " but unless he has land or can labor hard, 
a man with a family of small children stands but a poor 
chance. Situations for single men are very scarce, except 
as bar-tenders at taverns, clerks, etc." He complained of 
the great scarcity of a circulating medium — " frequently 
men who are possessed of a good farm and considerable 
stock are weeks and months without a cent ; they barter, 

62 " An Old Letter." — " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 
4, p. 40. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 2 55 



or as they call it, trade for almost everything. Many 
raise all they eat, with few exceptions, such as tea, coffee, 
etc. They raise their own wool and flax, which arc spun 
and woven by the women for clothing, so that a farmer is 
the most independent person in this country." Mechan- 
ics of all descriptions met with ready employment. 
Women school-teachers were paid six dollars per month, 
and " boarded around " with the parents of their pupils. 
Men teachers received from ten to twenty dollars per 
month, and also obtained a living by swinging around 
the circle of the district. There were a few select or 
private schools, one of which Mr. Stair kept in Newburg. 
Another entertaining view of the Forest City, in the 
same year, may be briefly quoted, as supplemental to the 
above : 63 ' ' Few places in the western country are so 
advantageously situated for commerce, or boast greater 
population and business. Here is the northern termination 
of the Ohio Canal, 309 miles in length, by which this village 
will communicate with Columbus and Cincinnati, with 
Pittsburgh, St. Louis and New Orleans. •' • • An inspec- 
tion of the map will show that Cleveland has a position of 
extraordinary advantage, and it only requires a moderate 
capital, and the usual enterprise of the American char- 
acter, to advance its destiny to an equality with the most 
flourishing cities of the west. Two years ago, it had 
one thousand inhabitants ; it has now two thousand, and 
is rapidly increasing. The vicinity is a healthy, fertile 
country, as yet mostly new, but fast filling up. An arti- 
ficial harbor, safe and commodious, constructed by the 
United States, often presents twenty to thirty sloops, 
schooners, and steamboats." 

63 This account is taken from an article written by E. Randell, of Tiffin, 
Ohio, to the "Cleveland Leader" some years since. He says that it is 
quoted from the " Casket " of 1S33. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE CITY OF CLEVELAND. 

The era of railroad building, that was inaugurated in 
America with such wide-spread results, in the decade from 
1830 to 1840, brought Cleveland, for the first time, within 
its direct influence in the early days of 1 834. On the 3rd of 
March, of that year, an act was passed by the Ohio Legis- 
lature incorporating an organization by "the name and 
style of the Cleveland and Newburgh Railroad Com- 
pany." Those named in the act as corporators were 
Aaron Barker, David H. Beardsley, Truman P. Handy, 
John W. Allen, Horace Perry, Lyman Kendall, and James 
S. Clark. They were authorized to construct a railroad 
" from some point in lot No. 413 in Newburgh township, 
to the harbor in Cleveland ; ' ' permitted to transport 
freight and passengers " by the power and force of 
steam, animals, or other mechanical force, or by a com- 
bination of them." The terminus, at the eastern end, 
was near a stone quarry on the lot named, which was 
itself near the corner of the four townships — Cleveland, 
Euclid, Warrensville and Newburg. There was, immedi- 
ately, a scene of activity in that neighborhood, as the ex- 
pectations of the American people as to what could be ac- 
complished by aid of a railroad, even though run by horse- 
power, were very great. A depot was put up, and the farm 
lands, lying round about, were cut up into building lots. 

The authorized stock was fifty thousand dollars, which 
was subscribed, and construction commenced. Ahaz 
Merchant was chief engineer. The track was laid through 
Euclid street, and across Doan Brook, and thence on up to 
the quarry, near where Adelbert College now stands. 
The rails were made of wood, and two horses driven tan- 
dem constituted the motive power. The line ran along 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 2 57 

the south side of the Publie Square, while the depot was 
a part of the barn of the Cleveland Hotel, which stood 
upon the present site of the Forest City House. The 
Square was, at that time, the dumping ground of the stone 
brought in. This first " railroad " of Cleveland was 
operated only for a few years and then abandoned, the 
rotting ties and rails remaining for a long time a public 
nuisance upon the highway. 64 

There was a quiet but steady growth all through 1834, 
but nothing of a startling nature to chronicle. The Cuya- 
hoga Steam Furnace Company was organized in that year, 
the chief stockholders being Josiah Barber, Richard Lord, 
Luke Risley and Charles Hoyt. The plant was located at 
the corner of Detroit and Center streets, and for many 
years it was the chief iron manufacturing concern of the 
city. The first locomotive made west of the Alleghanies 
was manufactured there, and also the machinery for the 
first screw propeller to run upon the lakes. In 1841, the 
company manufactured a large number of cannon for the 
Lnited States Government, and at a later date enlarged 
its scope of operations for the making of plows, castings, 
mill-irons, etc. The locomotive above referred to was 
made for a newly-constructed railway between Detroit 
and Pontiac, Michigan, and after twelve years of use, was. 
in such good condition that it Avas sold for nearly its first 
cost. At these works were also built the locomotives first 
used on the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad,. 
and also those on the Cleveland & Ashtabula. 

Another venture for the year 1834 was the establish - 

64 The ready pen of George F. Marshall has touched up this pioneer line 
in these words: " The Cleveland and Newburgh Railway was an accom- 
plished fact, had its day, carried its loads of human freight and blue stone 
combined, yielded up its dividends and the ghost simultaneously, and 
where is it? • • • The line of route was directly through Euclid street, 
and a single passenger-coach carried all the human freight that sought 
transit ; one horse was quite enough for any car-load, and we prided our- 
selves that we had a street railroad in real good earnest, and two trips 
a day were quite enough for all the travel." — " A Sketch of Early Times 
in Cleveland," by Geo. F. Marshall. — " Annals of the Early Settlers' As- 
sociation," Xo. 1, p. 100. 



2jS THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

ment of yet another newspaper, the Cleveland " Whig." 
We have seen how the ' ' Herald ' ' came into being, and 
.also, noted the birth and death of its short-lived prede- 
cessor, the " Gazette and Commercial Register." From 
1 8 19 to 1832, the " Herald " seems to have held the field 
without a rival. In the year last named, it veered some- 
what toward Democracy, or " Jacksonianism," as it was 
called at a time when Andrew Jackson dominated his 
party. The Cleveland Whigs were naturally not pleased 
with this course, and a number of them set to work for the 
creation of a counteracting agency. Madison Kelley was 
persuaded to undertake the task, and in 1832 established 
the " Advertiser," as an out-and-out Whig organ. John 
W. Allen wrote the first editorial, and the party back of 
the venture were pleased with the tone of their new de- 
fender; and yet such is the irony of fate, that out of this 
Whig organ grew that staunch Democratic newspaper, 
the Cleveland "Plain Dealer," while the "Herald" 
finally came around to the support of the Whigs. 

The "Advertiser " was sold in 1834 to Canfield & Spen- 
cer, who continued its publication as a Democratic weekly 
paper until 1836, when it became a daily. J. W. and A. 
N. Gray purchased it in 1 841 , and changed the name to the 
" Plain Dealer," by which name it has been known since. 

The " Whig," which appeared on the 20th of August 
(1834), was published by Rice & Penniman, and existed 
about two years. During several succeeding years, the 
ambition of various parties took the direction of newspa- 
pers, and the little city — for such it was soon called — suf- 
fered no dearth of periodical literature. In 1836, came the 
* ' Messenger, ' ' which died within a year ; and in the same 
year the "Ohio City Argus " was established on the West 
Side, by T. H. Smead and Lyman W. Hall— quite Whig- 
gish in its tendencies, but not very partisan. Col. Charles 
Whittlesey established the " Cleveland Daily Gazette" 
in 1836, which united with the " Herald " in 1837, under 
the name " Daily Herald and Gazette." " The Liberal - 
ist " came in 1836, and was so skeptical in its tendencies 




Sunry/ri and PutlMd try Mat Mtrrlumt, Octoier, AfcJS 



Till-: HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. zjg 

that it failed of support, and died within a year. The 
" Journal " came into existenee in 1836; the " Commer- 
cial Intelligencer " in 1838; the ''Axe" in 1840; the 
" Agitator " in 1840; the " Morning News," the " Palla- 
dium of Liberty," the'' Eagle-Eyed News-Catcher," and 
the " Morning Mercury," were the products of 1841, and, 
during several succeeding years, other like attempts were 
made, only to be overtaken by the same fate. 

Three churches were added to the growing religious 
and moral agencies of Cleveland in 1834. St. John's 
Episcopal, on the West Side, was organized in this year, 
and held services in school-houses and in the resi- 
dences of its members until 1836, when a commodious 
stone church building was erected on the corner of 
Church and Wall streets. The First Congregational 
Church was also organized on December 2 1st, with a mem- 
bership of thirty-eight. There were at this time but fif- 
teen German families in Cleveland. A meeting of several 
of these was held, where they organized the German 
Evangelical Protestant Church society. The early meet- 
ings were held in the old Bethel building, between Water 
street and Superior street hill, until 1836, when the 
society moved to what was known as the Third Ward 
School, on St. Clair street. 

The name of Henry B. Payne 65 first appears on the public 

65 Henry B. Payne has made his mark upon the history of Cleveland in 
a deep and lasting manner. Born in Hamilton, New York, he was edu- 
cated at Hamilton College; studied law; came to Cleveland in 1832, and 
after admission to the bar, entered into partnership with H. V. Willson. 
He early took part in the conduct of public affairs ; was a member of the 
City Council ; president of the Cleveland & Columbus Railroad Company ; 
member of the first board of water-works commissioners ; sinking-fund 
commissioner; city clerk; elected to the State Senate in 1851; was Demo- 
cratic nominee for United States Senator in 1851, but was beaten by 
Ben Wade by only one vote ; was Democratic candidate for governor in 
1857, but was defeated by Salmon P. Chase by but a few hundred votes; 
•served as delegate to a number of presidential conventions. Mr. Payne 
was elected to Congress from the Cuyahoga district in 1874, and was a 
member of the famous Tilden-Hayes electoral commission. In 1880, he 
was a prominent candidate for the Democratic nomination for President. 
He rounded out a long and honorable public career by election to the 
"United States Senate in 1884. He died on September 9th, 1896. 



s6o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

records of Cleveland in 1834, when he served as a clerk 
of elections. He had become a resident of Cleveland the 
previous year, and formed a law partnership with H. V. 
Willson, his former class-mate. The long and valuable 
connection of Mr. Payne with Cleveland, and her public 
interests, will be shown, from time to time, in the record 
that follows. 

There was commenced in the office of the clerk of Cuya- 
hoga County, on September 26th, 1834, a record book 
which the law compelled, but which reads now with little 
credit to the law-makers of Ohio. It is still in existence, 
in the dusty files of that office, although, let us say thank- 
fully, the use for it has long since passed away. Upon 
the first page is this entry: " Record of Black and Mu- 
latto persons, certificates of freedom, bonds, etc." It 
was commenced in accordance with the requirements of 
an act of the Ohio Legislature of 1804, which provided 
that " no black or mulatto person shall be permitted to 
settle or reside in this State unless he or she shall first 
procure a fair certificate from some court within the 
United States of his or her actual freedom, and requiring 
every such person to have such certificate recorded in the 
clerk's office in the county in which he or she intended to 
reside." 

The law further provided that it should be unlawful, 
and punishable with a fine, to employ any such person 
not provided with a certificate of this character. Another 
act was passed in the same year, making it punishable 
with a fine to harbor or secrete any " black or mulatto 
person, ' ' and also imposing a fine of one thousand dollars 
upon anyone who aided or assisted in the removal of any 
such person — "the property of another." In 1807, a law 
as to slaves was enacted to the effect that no negro or 
mulatto should be permitted to settle within the State, 
unless such person should, twenty days thereafter, enter 
into a bond, with two or more freehold sureties, ' ' con- 
ditioned for the good behavior of such negro or mulatto, 
and to pay for the support of such person in case he or 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 261 



she be found within any township unable to support him 
or herself." 

The first entry in this book, as above stated, was made 
in 1834, and the last one appears in 185 1. One Thornton 
Kinney, in one of the earliest registrations, was described 
as "a man of dark complexion, age twenty-one years, 
five feet nine inches high, and was free born. ' ' Another is 
that of "Jesse Burrell, about forty-nine years of age ; has a 
scar on the forehead, and one over the left eye." This 
bears the attestation of Robert F. Paine, clerk, by William 
Waterman, deputy. Public opinion upon the question of 
slave-holding was very much divided in Ohio, even at that 
late date, the general view being that it was a necessary 
social and political institution for the South, and that it 
was the duty of the North to protect, so far as in their 
power lay, the slave-holders in the possession of their 
human chattels. 

It will hardly be necessary to apologize for yet another 
digression at this point, for the purpose of taking a per- 
sonal view of Cleveland in this year 1835, through the 
eyes of one who was then a sturdy boy, and now an hon- 
ored jurist and useful citizen — Hon. James D. Cleveland. 66 
1 ' As the steamer came up the river, ' ' writes Judge 
Cleveland, "the boy read the signs on the warehouses — 
Richard Winslow, Blair & Smith, Foster & Dennison, W. 
V. Craw, Robert H. Backus, Gillett & Hickox, C. M. Gid- 
dings, N. M. Standart, M. B. Scott, Griffith & Standart, 
Noble H. Merwin — and passed scores of steamers, schoon- 
ers and canal boats, exchanging wheat and flour from in- 
terior Ohio for goods and salt to be carried to the canal 
towns all the way to the Ohio River. Walking up Su- 
perior lane, a steep, unpaved road, you passed the stores 
of Denker & Borges; Deacon Whitaker's, full of stoves; 
George Worthington, hardware ; at the corner of Union 
lane, where Captain McCurdy had lately retired from the 
dry goods business; Strickland & Gaylord, drugs, etc.; 

66 « ' The City of Cleveland Sixty Years ago, ' ' by James D. Cleveland, 
in the " Cleveland Leader," February 2nd, 1896. 



262 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Sanford & Lott, printing and book-store ; and T. W. Morse, 
tailor. On reaching the top, Superior street, 132 feet 
wide, spread before you — the widest of unpaved streets, 
with not a foot of flagged sidewalk except at the corner of 
Bank street, in front of a bank. It was lined with a few 
brick, two and three-story buildings. A town pump stood 
at the corner of Bank street, near the old Commercial 
Bank of Lake Erie, on the corner, of which Leonard Case 
was president, and Truman P. Handy cashier. There 
were three or four hotels. Pigs ran in the street, and 
many a cow browsed on all the approaches to it. Dr. Long 
had a fine two-story residence on the corner of Seneca 
street. Mr. Case, C. M. Giddings, Elijah Bingham, Will- 
iam Lemon, John W. Allen, and a few others, had resi- 
dences dotted around the Public Square, upon which the 
old Stone Church occupied its present site, and in the 
southwest corner stood the court-house. The post-office 
occupied a little ten by fifty feet store-room in Levi John- 
son's building, below Bank street, and you received your 
letters from the hands of Postmaster Daniel Worley, and 
paid him the eighteen pence, or twenty-five cents postage, 
to which it was subject, according to the distance it had 
travelled. The great majority of the best residences were 
on Water, St. Clair and Lake streets. A few good houses 
had been built on Euclid avenue, but the Virginia rail- 
fence still lined it on the north side, from where Bond 
street now is to the Jones residence, near Erie street, 
where Judge Jones and the Senator (John P. Jones) lived 
in their boyhood. There were groves of fine black oaks 
and chestnuts on Erie street between Superior and Pros- 
pect streets, and a good many on the northeast part of 
the Public Square, and between St. Clair street and the 
lake. With its scattered houses, its numerous groves, its 
lofty outlook upon the lake, its clear atmosphere, as yet 
unpolluted by smoke, Cleveland was as beautiful a village 
as could be found west of New Haven." 

The ship-building interests of the city received a marked 
impetus, when, in 1835, Seth W. Johnson opened a yard, 



THE HISTORY OE CLEVELAND. 263 



at first confining himself to the repairing of vessels. He 
soon turned his attention to building, and the steam-boats 
" Constellation " and " Robert Fulton " were among the 
first of his works. The establishment was increased, in 
1844, by the addition of Mr. Tisdale, and the firm name 
became Johnson & Tisdale. This copartnership lasted 
nineteen years. The firm of Quayle & Moses built a 
number of vessels ; when Mr. Moses retired, John Martin 
took his place, the firm living for a long time in local 
history as Quayle & Martin. From the time of this con- 
nection up to 1869, they had built fully seventy-five ves- 
sels, and in one year they turned out thirteen. E. M. 
Peck opened a yard here, his first ship being the " Jenny 
Lind, ' ' of two hundred tons. He formed a partnership, in 

1855, with I. U. Masters, under the name of Peck & Mas- 
ters, which existed until 1864. Over fifty vessels were 
launched by them, and after the dissolution of the firm, 
Mr. Peck carried on the business alone. He built the 
revenue cutters " John Sherman " and "A. P. Fessen- 
den," which were promptly accepted by the government, 
and put in commission on the great lakes. He also con- 
structed a number of other vessels, the greater part of 
them being of large size. Captain Alva Bradley removed 
his shipyard from Vermillion to Cleveland in 1868, and 
built many vessels here before retiring from the ship- 
building business. 

In 1853, the vessel building interest of Cleveland took a 
new start, and made rapid and wonderful progress. In 

1856, a total of thirty-seven craft was reported, having a 
tonnage of nearly sixteen thousand. This important in- 
dustry not only held its own afterwards, but soon grew into 
a great and remarkable place in the commercial develop- 
ment of Cleveland. Between 1849 an d 1869, nearly five 
hundred vessels of all kinds, for lake navigation, were 
built in the district of Cuyahoga, nearly all of which were 
the production of Cleveland ship-yards. The records of 
the Board of Trade gave the total registered tonnage in 
1884 at 84,295 tons. 



264 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Carrying this marine record back to 1835, the year now 
under consideration, we note an increased activity along 
the lake front, as an unwonted emigration to the west 
had set in. Cleveland had at that time a population of 
5,080, and was daily receiving additions. " Steamers ran 
from Buffalo to Detroit," says one chronicle, Gr " crowded 
with passengers, at a fare of eight dollars, the number on 
board of what would now be called small boats reaching 
from five to six hundred persons. The line hired steam- 
ers and fined them a hundred dollars if the round trip was 
not made in eight days. The slower boats, not being 
able to make that time, with any certainty, frequently 
stopped at Cleveland, discharged their passengers, and put 
back to Buffalo. It, sometimes, chanced that the shore ac- 
commodations were insufficient for the great crowd of emi- 
grants stopping over at this point, and the steamers 
were hired to lie off the port all night that the passen- 
gers might have sleeping accommodations. ' ' From March 
15th to November 28th, in the year following (1836), nine- 
teen hundred and one vessels of various kinds arrived in 
this port, which is certainly a large gain since 1818, when 
the * ' Walk-in-the- Water ' ' made her first appearance 
here. 

There was a reason for this sudden tax upon the hos- 
pitality of the Cleveland hotels, and this increased num- 
ber of visitors. The spirit of speculation in land was mov- 
ing men in an unusual degree, and towns and cities upon 
paper were springing up in all directions. There was 
a great rush toward the already-opened but undevel- 
oped sections of the west. Lines of emigrant wagons 
were seen almost daily, and the means of transportation 
by lake and canal were severely taxed. This boom, as 
it would now be called, had struck the Cuyahoga Valley, 
and the impression, suddenly, came into the minds of 
Clevelanders that their village had been touched at last 
by the wand of destiny, and that all the possibilities of a 
great future lay within her reach. This was, in a sense, 

67 " Magazine of Western History," Vol. II., p. 444. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 263 

set in the way o\ realization, when, in [836, Cleveland 
took upon herself the dignity and responsibilities of an 
incorporated city. 

In expectation of this important step, and in an exten- 
sion of the opportunities for settlement, a number of al- 
lotments in the outlying districts had been made. On 
January 12th, 1833, Alfred Kelley had made an allotment 
of the section lying west of Water street, and immedi- 
ately south of Bath street. Toward the end of the same 
year, James S. Clark, Edmund Clark and Richard Hilliard 
made what was called "the Center Allotment," embrac- 
ing all of the land in the first bend of the river. In 
April, 1834, Leonard Case laid out a ten-acre lot, at the 
southeast corner of the old city plat, and widened the 
Newburg road (Broadway), from 66 to 99 feet, to cor- 
respond with the original Ontario street. 

John M. Woolsey, in 1834, also added to the lands upon 
the market, by an allotment of all the two-acre lots south 
of Superior street and west of Erie street. Lee Canfield, 
Sheldon Pease and their associates, in November, 1835, 
allotted the two-acre lots at the northeast corner of the 
city plat, and laid out and dedicated Clinton Park. In 
January, 1836, Thomas Kelley and Ashbel W. Walworth 
laid out the two-acre lots south of Ohio street, and also a 
large tract of land adjoining the same, and reaching to 
the river. 

Preparations of the same active nature were being car- 
ried on, with an equal vigor, upon the other side of the 
river, where there was also a firm belief that manifest 
destiny foreshadowed important things. We have seen, 
already, how various enterprising capitalists had, in 1833, 
purchased a tract of some eighty acres, and laid it out into 
lots and streets, and known in the local comment and 
discussion of the day as "the Buffalo Company Purchase." 
Several allotments had also been made, outside of this 
section, by various parties owning lands in that vicinity. 

Among the members of the Buffalo Land Company 
were Philander Bennett, Major A. Andrews, Thomas 



266 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Sheldon, N. C. Baldwin, B. F. Tyler, and Charles Wins- 
low. The purpose the founders of the organization had 
in mind, was to drain and to improve the lands, locate 
factories and dwellings, and make that section the chief 
point upon the Cuyahoga River. 

Naturally, there was a great deal of rivalry between the 
two villages, and this feeling culminated, early in 1836, 
in a contest, as to which should be the first to don full 
municipal honors. 

A bill had been introduced in the State Legislature for 
the incorporation of the City of Cleveland. In that meas- 
ure, it was directed that the village council should call an 
election for the officers of the proposed corporation some 
time in April, which was the month for the regular spring 
elections. 

A bill was also introduced, in the same body, for the 
incorporation of " The City of Ohio," 68 upon the other 
side of the river. It contained a clause that officers should 
be elected on the third Monday in March. The bill passed 
on March 3rd, just two days before that incorporating 
Cleveland became a law, which was on March 5th, 1836. 
Thus the west side of the river, both in the date of the 
law and of the first election, became a full-fledged city 
before her older neighbor across the Cuyahoga River. 

The law described the territory to be embraced within 
the limits of this new-made city, and declared that "the 
inhabitants thereof " were created "a body corporate and 
politic, by the name and style of the City of Cleveland." 
The limits laid down were as follows : 

" Beginning at low water mark on the shore of Lake 
Erie at the most northeastwardly corner of Cleveland, ten- 
acre lot number one hundred and thirty-nine, and running 
thence on the dividing line between lots number one hun- 

68 It seems to have been the universal custom from the beginning, to 
call the corporation across the river, " Ohio City. " Yet the fact is, that 
it was incorporated under the name "City of Ohio," and that name ap- 
pears in all the council records, from the first page, in 1S36, to that in 
which it is stated that the council adjourned sine die, in 1854, when Cleve- 
land and the City of Ohio became one. 



THE HISTORY OE CLEVELAND. 267 

dred and thirty-nine rind one hundred and forty, numbers 
one hundred and seven and one hundred and eight, num- 
bers eighty and eighty-one, numbers fifty-five and fifty- 
six, numbers thirty-one and thirty-two, and numbers six 
and seven of the ten-acre lots to the south line of the ten- 
acre lots, thence on the south line of the ten-acre lots 
to the Cuyahoga River, thence down the same to the 
extreme point of the west pier of the harbor, thence to 
the township line between Brooklyn and Cleveland, 
thence on that line northwardly to the county line, thence 
eastwardly with said line to a point due north of the 
place of beginning, thence south to the place of begin- 
ning." 

The final meeting of the trustees of the incorporated Vil- 
lage of Cleveland, was held on the 21st of March, 1836, 
when it was ordered that the election to choose city of- 
ficers " under the charter incorporating the City of Cleve- 
land be held in the several (three) wards in said city, on 
the second Monday of April, 1836." The judges and 
clerks of said election were appointed, as follows : 

First ward: Judges, Richard Winslow, Seth A. Abbey, 
Edward Clark. Clerks, Thomas Bolton, Henry H. Dodge. 

Second ward ; Judges, Gurdon Fitch, Henry L. Noble, 
Benjamin Rouse. Clerks, Samuel Williamson, George C. 
Dodge. 

Third ward: Judges, John Blair, Silas Belden, Daniel 
Worley. Clerks, John A. Vincent, Dudley Baldwin. 

It was ordered also that the election in the first ward 
should be held in the Court-House ; that of the second 
ward in the lower room of the Stone Church; and that of 
the third ward at the Academy. While these places 
were, of course, chosen because of locality and room, it 
will be noted that the new-born city started off well, hold- 
ing its first election, as it were, within the visible portals 
of the law, the gospel, and education. 

The election was held in due season, with the follow- 
ing result : 

Mayor : John W. Willey. 



268 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Aldermen : Richard Hilliard, Nicholas Dockstader, 
Joshua Mills. 

Marshal: George Kirk. 
Treasurer : Daniel Worley. 

First ward conncilmen : Morris Hepburn, John R. St. 
John, William V. Craw. Second ward: Sherlock J. An- 
drews, Henry L. Noble, Edward Baldwin. Third ward : 
Aaron T. Strickland, A. M. C. Smith, Horace Canfield. 

John W. Willey, who was then entrusted with the 
honor and responsibility of serving as the first mayor of 
Cleveland, was qualified in all ways for that position. He 
was of New Hampshire birth, and was twenty-five years 
of age, when, in 1822, he settled in Cleveland, and began 

the practice of law. He was 
thoroughly fitted to make his 
way in a new and growing 
country. Well learned in the 
law, of a keen and penetrat- 
ing mind, a logician by na- 
ture, and endowed with great 
eloquence and wit, he soon 
became a marked figure at the 
Ohio bar. He served three 
years as representative and 
three as senator in the general 
assembly of Ohio. On his 
election as mayor of Cleve- 
land, he gave himself earnestly to the peculiar demands of 
a formative period, paying much attention to the prepara- 
tion of the laws under which the new city commenced its 
official life. He was re-elected mayor, in 1837, by a large 
majority. In 1840, he was appointed to the bench of the 
common pleas court of Cuyahoga County, which he was 
eminently fitted to adorn. At the time of his death, 
which occurred in June, 1841, he was president judge 
of the fourteenth judicial district. Of the quality of 
Judge Willey 's work for the city, Judge Griswold speaks 
as follows, in the address heretofore quoted: 




MAYOR JOHN W. WILLEY. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



*6g 



" The act by which the city was incorporated is a most 
excellently drafted instrument. It shows, on the part of 
its author, a clear understanding of municipal rights and 
duties. The language is clear and precise, and through- 
out its whole length it bears the impress of an educated, 
experienced legal mind. It was, undoubtedly, the work of 
the first mayor, and, I may add, for the purpose of furnish- 
ing the basis of wise city legislation for clearness, pre- 
cision, and certainty, it will not suffer by comparison with 
any of the municipal codes enacted since the adoption of 
the present constitution." 

The first meeting of the first City Council of Cleveland, 
was held in the Court-House on April 15th, 1836. The 
officers above named received the 
oath of office, and with them 
George Hoadly, 69 "a justice of 
the peace for said county. ' ' Sher- 
lock J. Andrews was unanimously 
elected president of the council, 
and Henry B. Payne was by a 
like vote made city clerk and city 
attorney. At the second meeting, 
a committee was appointed to con- 
fer with the councils of Philadel- 
phia as to the mutual advantages 
to be derived from the build- 
ing of the proposed Cleveland 

& Warren Railroad to Pittsburg. The presentation 
of the famous Columbus street bridge to the city was ac- 
cepted. Glancing rapidly over the proceedings for the 
next four months, we glean these points of historical in- 
terest, showing the outward movements of municipal 

69 George Hoadly was one of the marked men of his day. He had been 
a tutor at Yale, and, for some time in his early years, was a writer on an 
eastern journal. He served as a justice of the peace, in this city, from 
1 831 to 1846, and, during that time, passed upon over twenty thousand 
cases, few of which were appealed, and in' not one case was his judgment 
reversed. In 1S46, he was elected mayor of Cleveland, and made as good 
a chief municipal officer as he had a justice. About forty years after his 
inauguration, his son, George Hoadly, was installed as Governor of Ohio. 




MAYOR GEORGE HOADLY. 



27 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

events: The preparation of a law, authorizing a city loan 
not to exceed one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, was 
ordered. Fire limits were established on May 4th; wood 
inspectors were appointed, and it was decreed that "each 
cord shall contain one hundred and twenty-eight cubic 
feet." On May 7th, an ordinance was passed regulating 
the fire department and prescribing that, " The fire depart- 
ment of the City of Cleveland shall consist of a chief en- 
gineer, two assistant engineers, two fire wardens, in addi- 
tion to the alderman and councilmen (who are ex officio fire 
wardens), and such fire-engine men, hose men, hook and 
axe men, as are, or may from time to time, be appointed 
by the City Council." It prescribes the duties of each 
official in full, and orders penalties for damaging or ob- 
structing the department in any way. All members of fire 
companies were exempted from poll-tax. On the same 
day, the first theater license issued by the City of Cleve- 
land was granted to Messrs. Dean and McKinney, to be 
in force one year, on the payment of seventy-five dollars. 
John Shier was appointed city surveyor and engineer. 
The intersection of Water and Superior streets was des- 
ignated as a public stand for the sale of wood, and Stephen 
Woolverton, wood inspector, was directed to locate his 
office near that point. The Public Square, near Euclid 
and Ontario streets, was designated for the same purpose, 
and Inspector Samuel Brown was directed to locate his 
office in that vicinity. The purchase of a coat, for each 
member of the Hook and Ladder Company, was ordered. 
Samuel Cook was elected the first chief engineer of the 
fire department of the City of Cleveland ; Sylvester Pease 
and Erastus Smith being chosen first and second engi- 
neers, respectively. On May 31st. a communication from 
the mayor on the subject of common schools was read, 
and referred to a select committee of three, consisting of 
Messrs. Andrews, Hilliard and Hepburn. The street com- 
missioner was directed to procure a suitable ferry-boat, to 
carry persons and property across the river at such point 
as the Council should direct. In the proceedings for June 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 2 7 r 



20th, the following was agreed to: " That the marshal 
is hereby directed to prosecute every person retailing ar- 
dent spirits contrary to the provisions of the ordinance 
regulating licenses, after giving such person six days' no- 
tice to procure a license, and also to prosecute every per- 
son who fails to take out a license within one week after 
the same has been granted by the Council." 

In August, Mr. Andrews resigned his position as presi- 
dent of the Council, Dr. Joshua Mills being elected in his 
stead. In October, formal action was taken for the re- 
pairing, or replacing of "the town pump near the court- 
house." Henry B. Payne resigned the position of city 
clerk, and George B. Merwin was elected to that office. 

Leaving, for a time, the general story of Cleveland's ad- 
vance and development, we will follow her official muni- 
cipal record during several succeeding years, touching 
upon salient points only. In March, 1837, it was ordered 
that the mayor should be paid five hundred dollars for 
his services during the year, while each member of the 
council was awarded one dollar for each session of that 
body he had attended. The second city election, that of 
1837. resulted as follows: Mayor, John W. Willey ; Treas- 
urer, Daniel Worley ; Marshal, George Kirk; Aldermen, 
Joshua Mills, N. Dockstader, Jonathan Williams; Coun- 
cilmeu, George B. Merwin, Alfred Hall, Horace Canfield, 
Henry L. Noble, Edward Baldwin, Samuel Cook, Samuel 
Starkweather, J. K. Miller, Thomas Calahan. 

At the first meeting of the second City Council, on 
March 20th, Joshua Mills was elected president; O. P. 
Baldwin, city clerk ; Canfield & Spencer, city printers; and 
W. J. Warner, street commissioner. A great deal of small 
business was disposed of during the first month or so, one 
item of which was the appointment of a special commit- 
tee to ''inquire into the expediency of lighting Superior 
street from the river to the Public Square, and how many 
lamps will be necessary, and the expense of lamps, lamp- 
posts, oil, etc., and the best method of defraying the 
expense satisfactorily to the citizens." A resolution was 



2J2 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



adopted approving of a scheme for trie publication of a 
city directory. Another resolution was adopted, which 
declared that each individual who may have license to sell 
liquors in the city shall be permitted to sell "at the race 
course for five days, commencing on Tuesday, the 6th, 
provided each individual, before selling, pay the city treas- 
urer ten dollars." During this year, some progressive 
steps were taken, showing that Cleveland had begun to 
emerge somewhat from the village influences that had 
hampered it in the first year of municipal rule. On June 
5th, Mr. Hall offered a resolution which declared that 
" for the erection of a market or markets, the purchase of 
grounds whereon to build school-houses, and the erec- 
tion of school-houses, it is expedient for the city to bor- 
row on the good faith and credit thereof, the sum of fifty 
thousand dollars, for a term of years, at six per cent, an- 
nual interest, by creating 
that amount of stock, pro- 
vided said stock shall not 
be sold under par." 

This measure was laid 
on the table for a time, 
but was finally taken up 
and passed. At the same 
time Mr. Canfield's ordi- 
nance for the establish- 
ment of common schools 
was also passed. During 
the year a number of steps 
were taken, carrying these 
important measures into execution. 

At the election of 1838, Joshua Mills was elected mayor; 
Alfred Hall, N. Dockstader and B. Harrington, aldermen; 
George C. Dodge, Moses A. Eldridge, Herrick Childs, 
Leonard Case, B. Andrews, Henry Blair, Thomas Cala- 
han, Tom Lemen, and M. Barnett, councilmen ; Samuel 
Williamson, treasurer ; and George Kirk, marshal. At the 
organization of the Council, on March 19th, N. Dockstader 




MAYOR NICHOLAS DOCKSTADER. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 273 

was elected president. No city clerk was chosen at that 
session, because of the multiplicity of applicants, but, on 
the 22nd, A. H. Curtis was elected. The cost of carrying 
on the city, at that time, can be seen from a report of the 
Council finance committee, in which it is stated that the 
probable amount required for general purposes for the 
year would be $16,745, exclusive of that needed for the 
support of the poor. The amount to be collected from 
licenses and debts due the city would be $4 500, leaving a 
tax of $12,265 to be levied. Help was extended by the 
city in a material way to the first railroad effort that had 
assumed any formidable form. Permission for such action 
having been granted by the Legislature, Mr. Dockstader, 
in January, 1839, offered the following resolution, which 
was adopted: 

" That the board of commissioners designated to ex- 
ecute the Avishes and directions of the City Council and 
citizens of Cleveland in regard to the construction of the 
Cleveland, Warren & Pittsburgh Railroad, be respectfully 
requested to subscribe for and take up so much of the 
stock subscribed by our citizens, for the purpose of secur- 
ing the charter of the railroad, as will amount to two hun- 
dred thousand dollars, and that, in conjunction with the 
directors of said railroad, immediately take measures to 
procure a sufficient amount of subscription to construct 
said road from Cleveland to the Pennsylvania line, and 
then to borrow the aforesaid two hundred thousand dol- 
lars on the credit of the city." 

Mr. Mills was re-elected mayor in 1839; Samuel "Will- 
iamson was again made treasurer, and Isaac Taylor, mar- 
shal. John A. Foot was elected president of the new 
council, and James B. Finney, city clerk. 

During the life of this body, Moses Kelley was appointed 
city attorney ; a great deal was done in the direction of 
giving Cleveland better school facilities, as will be else- 
where shown ; the city market house on Michigan street 
w r as built and accepted, and L. D. Johnson appointed mar- 
ket clerk. An effort was made in the direction of temper- 



274 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



ance reform, and the action concerning the same we tran- 
scribe in full from the records of January 29th, 1840: 
" Mr. Barr's preamble and resolutions on the subject of 
licenses was called up. Mr. Foot submitted the following 
as a substitute : ' That the committee on licenses be in- 
structed to report an ordinance for the suppression of 
dram shops.' Mr. Rice proposed striking out the words 
'dram shops,' and inserting 'the sale of ardent spirits 
without license in the city,' and report at the next meet- 
ing of the Council. Mr. Foot accepted the amendment." 
At the next meeting the following occurred : ' ' The same 
committee ( on licenses ) also reported an ordinance for 
the suppression of the sale of ardent spirits in less quan- 
tities than one quart. Mr. Kelley moved to strike out 

' one quart ' and insert 
' fifteen gallons.' Mr. 
Barr moved to lay it on 
the table. Lost. The 
question was then taken 
upon Mr. Kelley 's amend- 
ment, and lost. Mr. Hill- 
iard moved to amend by 
striking out the words 
' one quart' and insert the 
words ' one pint,' which 
was also lost. Mr. Kel- 
ley moved to insert ' a 
pound of bread, ' and was 
decided out of order. It was, finally, on motion of 
Mr. Rice, committed to the same committee for re- 
vision." 

That was the last heard of the liquor question for that 
year, at least, as no further action had been taken when 
the new Council came into power. At the election of 
1840, Nicholas Dockstader was elected mayor; Timothy 
Ingraham, treasurer; and Isaac Taylor, marshal. 

Dr. Mills, who for three years held the office of mayor, 
was an efficient official, an estimable man, and a well- 




GEORGE A. BENEDICT. 



THE HIS TOR)' OF CLEVELAND. 



275 



known physician. He was born in 1797, and came to 
Cleveland about 1831. He practiced medicine here, and 
at one time kept a drug- store on Superior street. He 
died on April 29th, 1843. I n speaking of his character 
and record, the "Cleveland Herald" (May 1st ) said: 
''His eminence as a physician, his usefulness as a citizen, 
his character as a man, have secured to him an enviable 
reputation, while the frankness, the generosity, the no- 
bleness of his heart, have won the lasting love of all who 
knew him." 

On the organization of the Council of 1840, William 
Milford was chosen president; J. B. Finney, clerk; George 
A. Benedict, city attorney; and J. A. Harris, city printer. 
Among the proceedings of the year we find instructions to 
street supervisor to " prepare 
and seed the southern half of 
the Public Square in a suit- 
able and proper manner ; ' ' au- 
thorization of the same official 
to ' ' procure some suitable per- 
son to sink the public wells, 
so that they shall contain at 
least three and one-half feet of 
water, provided the expense 
shall not exceed thirty-five 
dollars." On May 6th, Mr. 
Foot's ordinance concerning 
the liquor question was taken 
up and passed, after much discussion. It was entitled 
''an ordinance to regulate taverns, and to prohibit the 
sale of ardent spirits or other intoxicating liquors byja 
less quantity than one quart." It was provided, further, 
that no licensed tavern keeper should give or sell ardent 
spirits to any child, apprentice, or servant, without the 
consent of parent, guardian, or employer, or to any intox- 
icated person. It was during this year that the Public 
Square was finally enclosed with fences — fences that it 
took great trouble and long discussion to remove in later 




JOSIAH A. HARRIS. 



2 7 6 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



years. In February, 1841, the following salary list was 
agreed upon: City marshal, three hundred dollars per 
annum; city clerk, four hundred; street supervisor, four 
hundred; treasurer, two hundred; market clerk, one hun- 
dred. At a later date, the salary of the mayor was fixed 
at one hundred dollars per year. 

Mr. Dockstader, whose official life closed with the end 
of this official year, will be remembered by the older resi- 
dents of Cleveland, as a business man who gave his time 
freely to the public when he could be of service, but who 
by no means made office-holding the purpose of his life. 
He was born in Albany, N. Y., on January 4th, 1802, 
and came to Cleveland when but twenty-four years of age, 
in 1826. He soon after went into business, and was the 
leading hat, cap and fur dealer in the city, until his retire- 
ment from active business in 
1858. He died on November 
9th, 1 87 1 ; was a man of ster- 
ling qualities, and strict busi- 
ness and personal habits. 

John W. Allen was elected 
mayor in 1841 : Joshua Mills, 
in 1842 ; N. Hay ward, in 1843 ! 
and Samuel Starkweather, in 
1844, and re-elected in 1845. 
Among the measures consid- 
ered, during this time, was a 
resolution offered by Henry 
Morgan proposing the repeal 
of the city charter, because that form of government 
was expensive and no improvement over the govern- 
ment by township officers; a petition was presented 
asking for an appropriation out of the general fund 
for the education of colored children, which was granted 
to the extent of fifty dollars; the tax of 1845 was laid 
at six mills on the dollar. George Hoadly was chosen 
mayor in 1846; Josiah A. Harris, in 1847; Lorenzo A. 
Kelsey, in 1848; Flavel W. Bingham, in 1849; William 




MAYOR NELSON HAYWARD. 



THE HIS TORY F c L E V ELAND. 277 



Case, in i85o. r0 The first official hint of the telegraph in 
connection with Cleveland, is heard in 1847, when H. B. 
Ely, in behalf of the Lake Erie Telegraph Company, 
offered a petition asking permission to erect a line through 
the city. A resolution favoring the project was offered 
by Henry B. Payne, and adopted. The records show 
various measures proposed or passed, relating to the giv- 
ing of city aid to railroads, schools, gas works, cemeteries, 
etc., all of which will find consideration in their proper 
place in this record. 

Leaving the official municipal history of Cleveland at 
the mid-century mark, to which it has now been carried, 
we retrace our steps to the year 1836, to consider the gen- 
eral fortunes of the rival municipalities that were sepa- 
rated only by the Cuyahoga River. 

There were several gentlemen who chose their homes 
in Cleveland this year, and afterwards left their impress 
for good upon the public life in various ways. 

Among these were William Bingham, who was induced 
to come here because of the presence of his cousin, Flavel 
W. Bingham, and who long since was counted among the 
leading hardware merchants of the west; Franklin T. 
Backus, who afterwards won an enviable position at the 
Ohio bar; D. W. Cross, a member of the bar, and promi- 
nent as a coal operator ; and William A. Otis, business 
man, iron maker and banker. 

The early schools of Cleveland, with their semi-private 
and rather uncertain support, have been described here- 
tofore. A new impetus to public education was given 

150 The list of Cleveland's mayors, from 1850 to the present time, is as 
follows: 1 85 1, William Case; 1852, 1853, 1854, Abner C. Brownell; 1855, 
1856, William B. Castle; 1856, 1857, 1858, Samuel Starkweather; 1859, 
i860, George B. Senter; 1861, 1862, Edward S. Flint; 1863, 1864, Irvine U. 
Masters; 1865, 1866, Herman M'. Chapin; 1S67, 1868, 1869, 1870, Stephen 
Buhrer; 1871, 1872, Frederick W. Pelton; 1873, 1874, Charles A. Otis; 
1875, 1376, Nathan P. Payne; 1877, 1878, William G. Rose; 1879, 1880, 
1881, 1882, R. R. Herrick; 1883, 1884, John H. Farley; 1885, 1886, George 
W. Gardner; 1887, 1888, B. D. Babcock; 1889, 1890, George W. Gardner; 
1891, 1892, William G. Rose; 1893, 1894, Robert Blee; 1895, 1896, Robert 
E. McKisson. 



*j8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

on the incorporation as a city, and among the earliest 
communications considered by the first City Council was 
one from Mayor Willey upon the subject of public schools. 
On June 9th, Mr. Craw introduced a resolution for the 
appointment of a committee who should employ a teacher 
and assistant to continue the " free school " to the end of 
the quarter, or "until a school system for the city shall 
be organized at the expense of the city." It was so or- 
dered. This had reference to a school, the origin of 
which is said to have been as follows: "A Sunday school 
Avas organized in the old Bethel Church, probably in 1833 
or 1 834, a kind of mission or ragged school. The children, 
however, were found so ignorant that Sunday school teach- 
ing, as such, was out of the question. The time of the 
teacher was obliged to be spent in teaching the children 
how to read. To remedy this difficulty, and make the 
Sunday school available, a day school was started. It was 
supported by voluntary contributions, and was, in fact, a 
charity school, to which none were sent but the very poor- 
est children." 71 R. L. Gazlay, principal of this school, 
reported to the Council that 229 children had received 
instruction during the quarter ending September 20th, 
1836, and that its maintenance had cost $131.12. 

The first Board of School Managers was appointed on 
October 5th, 1836, and consisted of the following gentle- 
men: John W. Willey, Anson Haydon, Daniel Worley. 
In the succeeding March, these gentlemen reported that 
they had continued the common free school, earnestly 
urged the city authorities to a more liberal outlay for 
schools, and pointed out the great need of school-houses. 

At the same session of the Council, Mr. Noble offered 
a resolution requesting the committee on schools "to as- 
certain and report, as soon as convenient, what lots may 
rje purchased, the price and terms of payment, to be used 
for school purposes — two in the First ward, one in the Sec- 
ond ward, and one in the Third ward." 

;1 vStatement by Samuel H. Mather. — Freese's " Early History of the 
(Cleveland Public Schools," p. 10. 



THE HISTORY OF CTEl'ELAXD. 



*?9 



The second Board of School Managers, appointed in 
April, 1837, consisted of Samuel Cowles, Samuel William- 
son, and Philip Battell. They could do no more than 
continue the limited work of their predecessors, and it 
was universally agreed that enlarged powers, and a more 
adequate system, were needed to keep pace with the growth 
of the city. " As yet," says Mr. Freese, in the work al- 
ready quoted, "the City Council had passed no ordinance 
establishing a system of schools. The school above re- 
ferred to (the free school) was the only one that had any 
existence by authority ; neither did the city own a school- 
house, nor a foot of ground upon which to erect one. 
Cleveland had then a popu- 
lation of about five thousand ; 
and, although no records are 
extant to show it, there must 
have been in attendance upon 
the schools, private and pub- 
lic, no less than eight hun- 
dred children. But the school 
maintained by the city had 
an enrollment of less than 
three hundred, so that the 
Academy and other private 
schools still furnished in- 
struction to a very large ma- 
jority of the youth of the city." 

The first actual legislation, upon the part of the City of 
Cleveland, for the creation of what has long since become 
one of the best school systems of the country, was com- 
pleted upon July 7th, 1837, when the City Council passed 
"an ordinance for the establishment of common schools." 

This measure seems to have been carefully and ably 
drawn, and duly met the requirements of the time. The 
school committee of the Council were authorized to lease 
suitable buildings or rooms to be occupied for school pur- 
poses, provided they met the approval of the school man- 
agers. The cost of the same was not to exceed one-half 




MAYOR SAMUEL STARKWEATHER. 



sSo THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the amount which the Council had authority to appropri- 
ate annually for the construction of buildings for school 
purposes. Needed apparatus and furniture were to be 
provided. 

The school managers were authorized to immediately 
establish, in the rooms and buildings above provided, such 
schools of elementary education as they thought advis- 
able, and procure such instructors as were needed. The 
term of school was to commence on the 24th of the same 
month in which the measure was passed, and end on 
the 24th of the next November. It was carefully pro- 
vided that expenses should be kept within the revenues 
available. 

The first annual report made by the Board of School 
Managers is signed by the three gentlemen above named, 
and is an interesting and suggestive document. They 
state that rooms were provided by the Council committee, 
and "two schools for the sexes respectively" were opened 
in each district, and kept open until in November, as the 
law specified. Three male and three female teachers 
were employed for the full term. The average attend- 
ance at each school was not less than forty pupils, and 
the whole expense for tuition was $640.82. 

The winter term commenced on December 1st, and con- 
tinued until the end of March. The same number of 
schools was provided, and as more were found to be nec- 
essary, a "child's school" in addition was established in 
each of the two more populous districts. The managers 
say: " Eight schools, therefore, during the winter, were 
sustained, employing three male and five female teachers. 
There were eight hundred and forty names on the school 
lists, and an aggregate average attendance of four hun- 
dred and sixty-eight . The expense for tuition was $868 . 62 . 

" The schools have been wholly free, and open to all 
within the districts legally admitted to their privileges. 
The boys and girls have been entirely separate, the former 
taught by male and the latter by female teachers. The 
child's schools were designed for the younger scholars of 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



28 J 



both sexes, and are taught by female teachers. The 
teachers have been critically examined before being em- 
ployed, and the schools duly inspected, as required by 
charter. The wages given have been to female teaehers 

$3 per week, and to male teaehers $40 per ealendar month. 
A uniform seleetion of books has been preseribed by the 
managers, which, by arrangements with the teachers, 
have been furnished to the schools at wholesale prices." 

A census was taken by the board in October, 1837, of 
all persons within the city between the ages of four and 
twenty-one, with the following result: First w r ard, 918; 
Second ward, 599; Third ward, 665. The teachers' lists 
showed an attendance upon the schools of 840. The 
managers declared that their aim had been ' ' to commence 
the establishment of a system of schools answering to the 
intentions of the city charter, to be supported by the defi- 
nite income of the treasury appropriated to this object." 
The school income 
for the year amount- 
ed to 82,830. 

In their report for 
1838-9, the managers 
stated that in all the 
schools the common 
English branches 
had been taught, 
while in some con- 
siderable progress 
had been made in 
history, the natural 
sciences, etc. The 
board for this year 
consisted of Silas 
Belden, Henry Sex- 
ton, and Henry H. Dodge. 

The city purchased the Academy building in July, 
1839, at a cost °f Slx thousand dollars. School had been 
kept in it for the two preceding years. The other schools 




PROSPECT STREET SCHOOLHOUSE. 



2S2 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 




had been seattered here and there — one in the Farmer's 
bloek, one in an abandoned paint shop, and one in a gro- 
cery store. It was recognized in all quarters that better 
accommodations were a matter of necessity. After some 
agitation, within the Council and without, two lots were 
purchased, one on Rockwell street, and one on Prospect 
street. Contracts were soon let to Warner & Hickox, the 
price for each building being 83,500, which included 

seats, fences, etc. 
That upon Rock- 
well street was 
completed in the 
spring of 1840, and 
the other in the fall 
of the same year. 
Both were of the 
same dimensions : a 
little over forty feet 
long and broad, two 
stories high, and 
finished exactly 
alike. 71a Upon the opening of the schools, in the winter, 
more than a thousand pupils made application, although 
there was room for but nine hundred; the rest were 
arranged for temporarily in some of the buildings pre- 
viously occupied. Among the teachers who were en- 
gaged in these early schools of 1840, we find the 
names of the following: N. A. Gray, Elizabeth Arm- 
strong, Abby Fitch, Louisa Kingsbury, Andrew Freese, 
Sophia Converse, Emma Whitney, Sarah M. Thayer, 
George W. Yates, Louisa Snow, Julia Butler, Caroline 

n * The "old district schoolhouse," illustrated above, still stands on 
Detroit street (West Side); [it has been used as a dwelling since 1S57. 
Mrs. John H. Sargent writes to the author concerning it as follows: 
" The schoolhouse was built the summer of 1841. Mr. Sargent kept the 
first school held within it in the winter of 1841-42; I kept the last school 
in it in the winter of 1856-57. The three school trustees were, my father, 
Morris Jackson; Stephen Herrick, and Henry Whitman. Mr. Sargent 
and I were married three weeks after my school closed — we were tiie 
Alpha and Omega of the old schoolhouse." 



AN OLD DISTRICT SCHOOLHOUSE. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, 2S3 



Belden, F. J. Blair, Maria Sheldon, and Eliza Johnson. 

The services of the best men of Cleveland were obtained 
in the management of these early school boards, and to 
their shrewd business wisdom and high educational ideals, 
may be traced much of the good which the schools of 
Cleveland have been able to do. Among them, in addi- 
tion to those already mentioned, may be found the names 
of such men as Samuel H. Mather, Charles Bradburn, 
Madison Kelley, Truman P. Handy, R. T. Lyon, Samuel 
Starkweather, James D. Cleveland, John Barr, Horace 
Benton, J. A. Thorne, Daniel P. Rhodes, and R. B. Dennis. 

Mayor George Hoadly, in his inaugural address in 1846, 
seemed to think that a time had come for an advance 
step in the matter of public education, and recommended 
a school of a higher grade, "an academic department " — 
the pupils to be taken from the common school, according 
to merit. " This would present," he declared, " a power- 
ful stimulus to study and good conduct. The poorest 
child, if possessed of talents and application, might aspire 
to the highest stations in the republic ; from such schools 
we might hope to issue the future Franklins of our land. ' ' 

The recommendation struck a responsive chord, and 
the City Council soon took steps to carry the idea into 
action. Resolutions were adopted declaring that a high 
school for boys should be established, and authorizing 
the proper committee to take steps to that end. Rooms 
were engaged in the basement of a church on Prospect 
street, Andrew Freese, of one of the grammar schools, was 
appointed principal, and the school went into operation 
on July 13th, of the same year, with thirty-four pupils. 
This number was soon increased to eighty-three. 72 A de- 
partment for girls was added in the spring of 1847. 73 

12 It may be of interest to name some of these first high school pupils, 
who, at a later date, became well known in Cleveland, or elsewhere, such 
as William W. Andrews, J. C. Buell, Oscar A. Childs, George W. Childs, 
Kennedy Clinton, George W. Gardner, John P. Jones, John M. Sterling, 
Jr., George W. Tibbitts, John F. Whitelaw. 

,3 The semi-centennial anniversary of the founding of this high school 
was celebrated on Wednesday, April 1st, 1896, by a gathering of former 



2S4 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



There was no small opposition to the establishment of 
this high sehool, many holding that it had been created 
without authority of law, and that in any case it was not 
expedient, nor justified by public needs. The tax-payers 
were generally' in favor of the common schools, where 
the great mass of children could be educated in the ele- 
mentary branches, but there was a wide division concern- 
ing the public teaching of the higher branches. 

The question was carried into the City Council. On 
March 24th, Henry B. Payne offered a resolution declar- 
ing that as the money appropriated for school purposes 
belonged to the common school, and as over two thou- 
sand children in Cleveland, over four years of age, did 
not attend school, while those who did attend were crowd- 
ed beyond all measure, pro- 
visions should be made for 
the erecting of new school- 
houses, and employment of 
additional teachers, until 4 ' an 
opportunity for obtaining a 
thorough common school ed- 
ucation is furnished to every 
child in the city, over four 
years of age." The resolu- 
tion further declared that, 
until this object was attained, 
it was inexpedient to sustain 
a select high school at the 
charge of the common school fund ; and directed that a se- 
lect committee of three be appointed to inquire into and re- 
port upon the expediency of providing for the permanent 
establishment of a high school, by requiring a tuition fee 
not exceeding six dollars per year, and the appropriation of 
a sum equal thereto from the general fund of the city. Such 

pupils, at the Central High School building, on Willson avenue. Some 
fifteen hundred were present. All of the living members of the class 
of 1S55 attended. These were Mrs. Moses G. Watterson, Mrs. A. M. Van 
Duzer, Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Miss Lucy M. Spellman, and Mr. Albert 
H. Spencer. 




MAVcR LORENZO A. KELSEY, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



committee was created, and consisted of Messrs. Payne, 
Erwin and Hickox. At the meeting of April 3d, Mr. 
Doan offered a resolution continuing the old system for 
another year, which was laid on the table. On the four- 
teenth, Mr. Payne attempted the passage of a resolution 
to reorganize the schools, making a school district of each 
ward, with a high school as the senior department there- 
of. It was laid on the table. At a subsequent meeting 
he secured the adoption of a resolution directing that, 
until otherwise ordered, the high school on Prospect street 
should be opened for the admission of girls equally with 
boys. 



CHAPTER XI L 

MANY EVENTS OF A FRUITFUL PERIOD. 

This determined fight for the high school system, that 
was so successfully made by its friends, is of especial in- 
terest because the arguments that were made in opposi- 
tion then have been heard with equal emphasis but less 
effect in these later days. 

The matter was taken into the newspapers, and upon 
the rostrum. A mass meeting was called in favor of the 
school, at which addresses were made by Dr. Fry, prin- 
cipal of the West St. Clair street grammar school, 
James A. Briggs, and Bushnell White. The school 
managers placed themselves upon the record with the 
declaration that it was their firm conviction that the sys- 
tem was " essential to the success of the public schools," 
and added: "It is the only way in which they can be 
made in truth what they are in name— common schools — ■ 
common to all ; good enough for the rich, and cheap 
enough for the poor — such schools as will meet the wants 
of all classes in the community. ' ' This was the deliberate 
opinion of Charles Bradburn, Truman P. Handy, Samuel 
Starkweather, and William Day. Does not that striking 
sentence — " good enough for the rich, and cheap enough 
for the poor ' ' — sum up the public school system of Cleve- 
land in a word ? 74 

" 4 When Harvey Rice was addressing the Ohio Senate in support of his 
bill for the creation of the common school system of Ohio, he made use of 
words that were fulfilled prophecy long since. Said he: " By the provis- 
ions of this bill, it is intended to make our common schools what they 
ought to be — the colleges of the people — ' cheap enough for the poorest, 
and good enough for the richest. ' With but a slight increase of taxation, 
schools of different grades can be established and maintained in every 
township of the State, and the sons and daughters of our farmers and 
mechanics have an opportunity of acquiring a finished education equally 
with the more favored of the land. . . . Allow me to express my 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



2S 7 



The school was allowed to run along in its own way 
until the following winter, when a legislative enactment 
was secured from the general assembly bywhich the City 
Council was "authorized and required " to establish and 
maintain a high school department. That settled the 
question of legality, and an ordinance was passed as di- 
rected. The support given, however, was half-hearted, 
and for some time the appropriations for support were 
kept down to the lowest possible sum — about nine hun- 
dred dollars per year. 

The average attendance during the first three years was 
about eighty. Two teachers, only, were employed up to 
1852, when a third was secured. A lot for a high school 
building was pur- __1=^b=-. __-_= ___ _ .' 

chased in 1851, 
and a cheap wood- 
en building put up 
for temporary ac- 
commodation. In 
1 856, a stone struc- 
ture was erected, 
and after many 
years' use for 
school purposes, 
became, at last, 
the headquarters for the Board of Education and the 
Public Library, in which useful service it still continues. 
It cost about twenty thousand dollars, and was dedicated 
on April 1st, 1856. 

As has been shown, the management of the early 
schools was in the hands of a board appointed by the City 
Council. This continued until 1858, when a change was 
made. After 1841, the secretary of the board was paid a 
small salary, and was called the acting manager, the ex- 
ecutive and clerical work being left largely in his hands. 

belief that the day is not far distant when Ohio, in the noble cause of pop- 
ular education and of human rights, will lead the column, and become 
what she is capable of becoming — a star of the first magnitude — the bright- 
est in the galaxy of our American Union." 




THE FIRST HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING 



2SS 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 



Visiting committees were appointed from time to time, 
whose duties have been denned thus: " These commit- 
tees are recommended by the board and appointed by the 
Council, but represent neither. They are the representa- 
tives of the people, appointed to examine the schools and 
to make known the results of the examination through 
their reports to the board. They are requested, also, to 
suggest such amendments, improvements, and changes, 




CLEVELAND TUHLIC LIBRARY BUILDING. 



as they may deem essential to the success and prosperity 
of the schools." 75 

As the city grew, and the schools increased in size and 
importance, the need of increased facilities, and more 
direct management, was keenly felt. In response to this 
demand, Richard C. Parsons, in May, 1853, introduced an 

,5 Samuel H. Mather, secretary of the board, 1854. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



2S9 



ordinance in the City Council, establishing the office of 
superintendent of instruction. It became a law in June, 
and in the same month Andrew Freese, principal of the 
high school, was appointed to the position, which he held 
until August. 1 861, when L. M. Oviatt became his suc- 
cessor, and in two years was himself succeeded by Anson 
Smyth. 

Municipal law-making and the founding of schools, 
were by no means the only measures by which these two 
newly-born cities of the Cuyahoga valley made use of 
their lately acquired legislative powers. Attention was 
paid to the condition of the lake front, which was a matter 
of great importance now that the lake marine was so rap- 
idly growing. In 1837, an act was passed incorporating 
the Lake Shore Company, which had authority to take such 
steps as were necessary to protect the lake banks from the 
encroachments of the water, and as payment for their 
expenditures, permission 
was granted the company 
to build wharves and piers. 
Little, if anything, was done 
under this authority, but at 
a later date the city em- 
ployed Col. Charles Whit- 
tlesey, at considerable ex- 
pense, to drive piles along 
certain portions of the lake 
front, which work was con- 
tinued afterwards by the 
railroads for their own pro- 
tection. Ohio City, not to 
be outdone, in 1837, procured an amendment to its char- 
ter, by which it was given authority to dig canals, slips, 
and basins, the cost of which was to be charged to the 
abutting property. Of this amendment, Judge Griswold, 
in the valuable document already quoted, has said : ' ' By 
this act a large parcel of territory in the southwest part of 
that city was carried back into the township of Brooklyn. 




COL. CHARLES WHITTLESEY. 



2 go THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



That city proceeded under the act to construct a canal lead- 
ing- out of the old river bed, and paid for the same by this 
seductive, but ruinous method of taxation to defray the 
cost of public improvements. The scheme was a failure, 
but the dry bed of the canal has since been utilized for 
the laying of railroad tracks. From want of means, be- 
ing unable to enter upon the construction of railroads, 
the citizens of Cleveland contented themselves with pro- 
curing charters for the construction of plank roads lead- 
ing out on all the principal highways from the city." 

It was, also, in 1837 that Cleveland began to have aspi- 
rations in a military direction, that set its bounds a little 
beyond the early militia, over which Major Carter and his 
associates held command, as we have already seen. The 
organization of the companies, that stood ready to defend 
their homes during the war of 18 12, has been noted also. 
About 1825, a regularly formed military organization made 
its appearance under the name of the ' ' Light Horse, ' ' but 
little is known concerning it, beyond the statement of the 
venerable John Doan that it "disbanded in the early thir- 
ties." 7 ' 1 On August 28th, 1837, a number of gentlemen 
met at the Cleveland House for the purpose of consider- 
ing the formation of a military company, which was to be 
called the "Cleveland City Guards." "After a number of 
meetings," says Mr. Hodge in the paper referred to in 
note, " [Timothy] Ingraham, who had been selected for 
captain, was taken sick, and remained in poor health for 
several months, during which time drilling was suspended, 
and nothing done towards perfecting the organization. 
In the meantime, a number of other young men, imbued 
with a military spirit, decided to form a company inde- 
pendent of the one already started. A man by the name 
of Ross became the drill master, and afterwards was made 
captain. As the company started by Captain Ingraham 
and others had shown no life for several months, the new 

16 Acknowledgment of much information upon this subject is made to 
Hon. O. J. Hodge, whose paper, " Cleveland Military," in the " Annals of 
the Early Settlers' Association," Vol. III., No. 4, p. 516, is a valuable his- 
torical document. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 291 

company could see no reason why it might not take the 
name o( Guards, and so it did. The name ' Guards ' at 
this time was very popular, and the first military company 
in a city was sure to adopt it. The men under Captain 
Ingraham had decided that the color of their suits should 
be gray, but as there was not cloth enough to be had in 
the city of that color, of the same shade, it was evident 
the company must for some time delay its debut, and that 
the new company, which had been started by Captain Ross, 
would be the first to appear in public. In view of these 
facts, the men under Captain Ingraham decided on the 7th 
of June, 1838, that the name City Guards should be 
dropped, and thereafter the company should be called the 
Cleveland Greys. There was very little objection to this, 
since the name so well corresponded with the color of the 
uniforms. July 4th, following, the City Guards under 
Captain Ross turned out for parade. It was the first ap- 
pearance of the company. Dressed in blue, with gold- 
colored trimmings, the men made a very showy appear- 
ance. At a Fourth of July banquet that evening, Mr. D. 
W. Cross proposed this sentiment :* ' The Cleveland City 
Guards, may their military spirit and enterprise be duly 
appreciated by our citizens.' Mr. Cross at the time was 
a member of the Greys, but he admired the spirit the 
Guards had shown." 

The first appearance of the long-since famous Greys 
upon the street in full uniform, ivas on September 6th, 
1838, and the " Herald " spoke with the warmest praise 
of their "neat, tasty uniforms, glittering bayonets, pre- 
cise military evolutions, and correct soldier-like bearing. ' ' 
A gun squad connected with the company w r as soon after 
formed. Mention is made of the Guards on parade as 
late as July 4th, 1843, an( i that is the last we hear of 
them. In June, 1845, the Greys turned over to the artil- 
lery squad, which had now become an artillery company, 
many equipments ; and upon the disbandment of the parent 
company, which soon followed, many of its members 
went into the " Light Artillery," as it was called, and 



292 THE HISTORY OF CLEl'ELAXD. 



which was under command of Captain D. L. Wood. It 
was in this year 1 1 847 1 that the German Guards made their 
first appearance, under the command of Captain Silberg. 
General A. S. Sanford succeeded to the command of the 
Greys in 1 847 ; and in the Fourth of July procession of 
that year two new organizations appear upon the scene — 
the Yagers, under command of Captain A. Seywert, and 
the Hibernian Guards, under Captain P. A. McBarron. 

The mention of General A. S. Sanford in the above 
naturally leads to a work in which he was very much in- 
terested — Cleveland's first city directory, published in 
i837. :r The firm of Sanford & Lott were printers, book- 
binders, stationers and publishers. The directory con- 
tained 1339 names, of which 275 were credited to Ohio 
City. It names four newspapers and eight church con- 
gregations as among the city's possessions, and furnishes 
much other valuable information. The city hospital was 
situated in a plat of four acres on Clinton street, in the 
easterly part of the city, and was 70 by 35 feet in size, 
with two stories. There were four public markets ; one 
theatre, the" Cleveland"; the rooms of the Cleveland 
Reading Room Association were open daily : while the 
chief manufacturing plants consisted of the following: 
Four iron foundries and steam-engine factories, three soap 
and candle factories, two breweries, one sash factory, two' 
rope walks, one stoneware pottery, two carriage factories, 
and two factories for the making of millstones. There 
were two banks, the Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, with 
a capital stock of S500.000, and the Bank of Cleveland, 
8300,000. The Cleveland City Temperance Society had a 
membership of 260; while one advertisement declares 
that ' ' strangers visiting the city will find the Shakespeare 
saloon an agreeable retreat, and every attention paid to 
their comfort and convenience." The Cuyahoga Anti- 
Slavery Society was in existence, with Edward Wade as 

" The title-page of this interesting and rare volume, a copy of which 
may be found in the library of the Western Reserve Historical Society, 
is here reproduced. 



DIRECTORY 



OF TUt CITIES OF 



CLEVELAND & OHIO, 



Comprising 



HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES OF EACH PLACE-AN ALPHABETIC 
Ah LIST OF INHABITANTS, THEIR BUSINESS AND RESIDENCE— A LIST OF THE 
MUNICIPAL OFFICERS-EVERY INFORMATION RELATIVE TO THE PUBLIC OF- 
FICES AND OFFICES.®, CHURCHES, ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS, SHIP- 
PING, .STEAMBOATS, STAGES, ,&e.— ALSO, A LIST OF THE OFFICERS OF THE 
GOVERNMENT OF OHIO- A TABLE OF FOREIGN COWS AND CUPvF.£NCI£S~AN0 
A VARIETY OF OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION, 



bit jraras p. Box.r«rj@& nnc ® abb. 



CLEVELAND : 

SANFOKD & LOTT, BOOK & JOB PRINTERS, 
1837. 



2 9 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



president; the Western Seaman's Friend Society was 
presided over by Samuel Cowles; Mrs. L. C. Gaylord 
was president of the Cleveland Maternal Association; 
David Long- president of the Cleveland Anti-Slavery So- 
ciety; the Cleveland Harmonic Society had seven mem- 
bers; T. P. Handy was president of the Cleveland Vocal 
Society; the Cleveland Lyceum and the Cleveland 
Polemic Association were flourishing concerns, with John 
Barr and James S. Underhill as presidents, respectively ; 
Charles Whittlesey was president of the Young Men's 
Literary Association, and John M. Sterling of the Cleve- 
land Reading Room Association. 

Announcement is made of a daily line of Ohio Canal 
packets, between Cleveland and Portsmouth, on the Ohio 
River. A boat left this city at four o'clock each afternoon, 
and reached the Ohio end in about eighty hours, if things 
went well. The Pioneer Fast Stage Line to Pittsburg 
was an established and popular institution. The stage 
ran to Wellsville, where a boat was taken to Pittsburg, 
making the trip occupy about thirty hours. At Pitts- 
burg, connection was made with the Good Intent Fast 
Mail Stage Line for Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, 
and Washington, over which line those from the Pioneer 
line had the preference. 

A brief study of some of the advertisements in this 
work may be entertaining and instructive. Richard 
Crook, of the Eagle Tavern on the corner of Water and 
St. Clair streets, returns his thanks for liberal patronage. 
The Cleveland Center House was located in the Cleveland 
Center Block, within a few rods of the steamboat and canal 
packet landings : It was designed to be one of the prin- 
cipal hotels in the western country: A picture of the 
building shows it to be three stories high, with six win- 
dows on each floor front. Books w^ere sold at wholesale 
and retail by Henry E. Butler. Dr. Strickland, a dentist, 
manufactured " incorruptable teeth," and advertised that 
families might command his services by the year, or 
otherwise. William R. Richardson furnished warm or 




■j: 



C Q 
■ji 3 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ags 

shower baths at the Spring Cottage, Clinton Park, three- 
fourths o\ a mile from the court-house, near the Mineral 
Spring, a coach leaving every hour, to convey passengers 
to and from the park. Peter M. Weddell & Co. (the com- 
pany being Dudley Baldwin and Peter P. Weddell) kept 
"constantly on hand, at the old stand, corner of Superior 
and Bank streets, No. i Washington block, so long and 
so favorably known to the public, a very extensive assort- 
ment of dry goods." There are many other announce- 
ments of a like character. 

During this somewhat long digression, we have left 
Ohio City alone in its new civic honors, and it is now 
time to note a series of stirring events taking place upon 
that side of the river. In April, 1837, James S. Clark and 
others laid out an allotment which embraced the greater 
part of Ohio City lying west and south of that of Barber 
& Sons, and called the same "Willeyville." "When this 
gentleman and his associates," says Judge Griswold, 
li had made the allotment of Cleveland Center, as it was 
called, they had laid Columbus street from the north line 
to the river. In this new plat, over the river, Columbus 
street was laid out through its center to connect with the 
Wooster and Medina Turnpike, as it was called, at the 
south line of the City of Ohio ; the northern end of said 
street being exactly opposite the southern end of the 
Columbus street of the other plat. Mr. Clark also 
erected a large block at the northern end of Columbus 
street, and two large blocks on the opposite corners of 
Prospect street, where it intersects Ontario." 

The managers of the Buffalo Company had been equal- 
ly active, in pushing and developing their interests upon 
their own side of the river. They constructed a large 
hotel on Main street, in the hope of attracting travelers 
to that portion of the city. 

Mr. Clark went a step further. In laying out the Wil- 
leyville tract, he had expended considerable money in 
grading the hill, and thus bringing Columbus street down 
to the river. He had constructed, also, a bridge across 



2 g6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the river, in the expectation that travel and traffic from 
the south would come into Cleveland, by this route, and 
then be led up Michigan street to Ontario and Prospect 
streets, because of the easy grade. 

A highly laudatory account of the erection of this 
bridge, and a detailed description of the structure itself, 
may be found in the directory above referred to. It cost 
some fifteen thousand dollars ; was ' ' supported by a stone 
abutment on either shore and pieces of solid masonry 
erected in the center of the river. Between the piers, 
there is a draw sufficient to allow a vessel of forty-nine 
feet beam to pass through. The length is two hundred 
feet, the breadth, including the sidewalks, thirty-three 
feet, and the height of the piers, above the surface of the 
water, may be estimated at twenty-four feet. The whole, 
with the exception of the draw, is roofed and enclosed, 
presents an imposing appearance, and reflects much 
credit on the architect, Nathan Hunt." "This splendid 
bridge," adds the directory man, "was presented to the 
corporation of Cleveland by the owners, with the express 
stipulation that it should forever remain free for the ac- 
commodation of the public, although the Legislature had 
previously chartered it as a toll bridge." 

The erection of this bridge, incidentally, supplied 
Cleveland with one of the most exciting events of its 
early career, — the famous "Bridge War" between Cleve- 
land and Ohio City, has been celebrated in song and 
story, and supplied the pioneer Clevelanders with 
a never-failing subject for anecdote and reminis- 
cence. 

The residents across stream naturally objected to the 
new structure, on the ground that the people from Brook- 
lyn, Elyria, and the country roundabout, would go over 
to Cleveland by the new route, instead of passing down 
into Ohio City, for their trading. This meant a direct 
loss, as each year brought hundreds of teams in, from the 
south and west, loaded with wheat, flour, corn, pork, etc., 
and many loads of goods were carried away in return. 



THE HISTORY OF ( ' I.I'AI'-LAND. 



297 



The claim was also set up, on technical grounds, 78 that 
the bridge had not been located in exact conformity 
with law — a claim that the citizens of Cleveland vigor- 
ously denied. 

A new source of irritation for the West Side was opened, 
when Messrs. Willey and Clark put into operation a 
scheme that would^operatejtnore directly^to the advantage 
of Cleveland. There was, down at Detroit street, a float 
bridge, one-half of which belonged to Cleveland and 
one-half to her rival. A resolution w T as adopted by the 
Cleveland Council directing 
the removal of the eastern, 
or Cleveland, half of this 
structure. This act w r as per- 
formed one night while the 
Ohio Citizens lay dreaming of 
future municipal greatness ; 
and when the morning mists 
arose from over the valley of 
the Cuyahoga, they saw their 
direct communication gone, 
and realized that to reach the 
court-house and other points 
of interest in Cleveland, they 

would be compelled to travel southward, and make use of 
the hated Columbus street bridge. 

The situation became critical. The war on the street 
corners and in the newspapers waxed intense. The war- 
cry " Two bridges or none!" became the slogan for the 
West Side. Indignation meetings were held, at which 
warlike speeches were made. A resolution was adopted 
by the Council of Ohio City that the new bridge was a 
public nuisance, and, as such, must be abated. 

The city marshal, backed by public opinion, swore in a 

' 8 " Though the dividing line between the two cities was the center of 
the river, Cleveland claimed to be legally invested with the entire title to 
the bridge. Ohio City claimed exclusive jurisdiction over the south half 
of it, and insisted on its abatement, because it diverted travel from that 
city to Cleveland." — Rice's " Incidents of Pioneer Life," p. in. 




MAYOR WILLIAM CASE. 



2 9 S THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



number of deputies, and attempted to carry this order into 
effect. One night a heavy charge of powder was put under 
the Ohio City end of the bridge, and exploded. Some 
damage was done, but not as much as had been expected. 
The next move was the cutting of an immense ditch at 
each end of the bridge, thus making it useless for teams. 

The citizens of the West Side decided to take the mat- 
ter into their own hands, and make sure that the order of 
their municipal legislature was carried out. A day of at- 
tack was set, and near one thousand men — some of them 
from the surrounding country — responded to the call, a 
great many of whom were armed. Rev. Dr. Pickans, 
pastor of a Presbyterian church, lent his presence, and 
before the body moved down upon the doomed structure, 
invoked divine aid for the undertaking. The line of 
march was then taken up, C. L. Russell, a well-known Ohio 
City lawyer taking the lead. 

An echo of this din of war had been heard across the 
river, and Cleveland was prepared to repel the attack. 
Down on their side of the stream stood an ancient cannon, 
heretofore reserved for Independence Day celebrations, 
loaded to the muzzle. A company of militia stood in 
line behind it, ready to rake the bridge with both artil- 
ler}- and musketry. 

When the army of advance reached the ditch at the 
south end of the bridge, they were met by the Mayor of 
Cleveland, who was prepared to advise peace and modera- 
tion. A volley of stones sent him back among his own 
forces. There was, at each end of the bridge, an "apron" 
that could be lowered or raised at will ; that on the Ohio 
City side was let down, and in its shelter the West Siders 
went to work beyond the reach of the bullets of the troops. 

Axes and crowbars were plied lustily. Planks were 
ripped up, and thrown into the river. The militia made a 
charge, and a general fight ensued. Deacon House, of 
the Ohio City contingent, slipped a file into his pocket, 
made his way across the bridge, and spiked the cannon be- 
fore it could be brought into use. In the melee, a number 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



299 



of the fighters were injured. Some would have been killed 
had not the marshal of Cleveland and the sheriff of the 
county appeared upon the scene, compelled a cessation of 
hostilities, and taken possession of the disputed structure 
in the name of the law. A decree of the court was ob- 
tained against further interference, and at the same time, 
the marshal and a posse were placed on guard to prevent 
further depredations. 79 

The authority under which this official acted was set 
forth in a resolution offered in the Cleveland City Coun- 
cil on October 29th, by Edward Baldwin, and unanimously 
adopted. That measure declared that "during the night 
of the twenty-seventh instant a portion of the city bridge 
connecting this city with the City of Ohio was blown up ; 
and the night of the twenty-eighth, the effectual applica- 
tion of powder to the southern abutment nearly destroyed 
the aforesaid bridge." The resolution further declared: 
"It is satisfactorily ascertained that the depredations 
aforesaid were committed by the inhabitants of Ohio City, 

79 The condition of the public mind, upon both sides of the river, can be 
judged somewhat from the following personal experience of D. W. Cross : 
" Nearly forty-five years ago the ' Commodore Perry ' landed at your busy 
wharf, a young man. When conveyed from the boat to the old Franklin 
House, the long rising steps in front, the platform, and the clerk's office, 
were crowded with boisterous and excited people. As he elbowed his way 
through the surging crowd toward the office to register his name as a 
future citizen of the only Ohio, three stalwart men ; Tom Colahan, George 
Kirk and Andrew Lyttle, seized a wiry, darksome man, and in a twinkling 
stood him bolt upright on the clerk's counter. He waved his hand, and 
that boisterous crowd was instantly reduced to silence. Then followed 
one of the fiercest blood-and-thunder speeches mortal man ever heard. 
Many of the old citizens will remember what the bold and fiery John R. 
St. John could do in that line, on a befitting occasion. It was the opening 
of the Bridge War, and the occasion was great. ' Fellow citizens,' said 
he in conclusion, ' your generous townsmen, Clark and Willey, have pre- 
sented this city with that bridge on Columbus street which spans the Cuy- 
ahoga. It has been unjustly attacked by the people of Ohio City with the 
avowed purpose of destroying it. That bridge is a public convenience — 
yes, a public necessity. It must be protected ! To destroy it means war! 
Before we will cowardly submit to this great injustice, we will give them 
war! War to the knife, and the knife to the hilt!' " — " Recollections of 
Cleveland and the Cleveland Bar," by D. W. Cross. — "Magazine of 
Western History," Vol. VI., p. 614. 



joo THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



during the commission of which depredations women and 
children were compelled to flee their beds in dead of 
night; a stone of the supposed weight of two hundred 
pounds was forced into a neighbor's house of ten rods 
distance, and the lives of families and individuals 
jeopardized." The marshal was directed, therefore, to 
keep "an armed guard at said bridge, to protect the same 
from further injury;" while the street commissioner was 
instructed to repair the damage done, and the city attor- 
ney directed to take the necessary steps to bring the 
offenders to justice, and obtain payment for the damage. 
A second resolution was adopted on November 9th, di- 
recting the withdrawal of the guard. The civil courts 
finally settled all differences, and each city proceeded 
forward upon its own responsibility as before. 80 

80 This war-like episode was something more than a joke at the time, 
but was soon seized upon by local wags and story-tellers, and made the 
basis of a great deal of amusement. D. W. Cross composed an epic of 
some length, entitled ' ' The Battle of the Bridge " ( " Magazine of Western 
History," Vol. VII., p. 343), the opening lines of which are here repro- 
duced: 

On hills, like Rome, two cities might be seen, 

(Meand'ring Cuyahoga flowed between) ; 

Whose rival spires in rivalry arose, 

The pride of friends, the envy of their foes. 

Each rival ruler of each rival town 

On his would smile, but on the other frown. 

Each sought for greatness, m his rival's fall, 

Regardless that the world was made for all. 

Envy and hatred waxed to frenzied height ! 

Naught could appease but fierce and bloody fight. 

The culmination came ! A peanut stand 

Erected by a " combination ' ' band 

Of desperate men of capital, who swore 

No trade should be diverted from their shore. 

They claimed that Clark and Willey, reckless, sought 

To build a bridge. The right of way was bought 

Already ! And they then designed to build 

Columbus street and bridge ! This rumor filled 

Their souls with madness, and their eyes with tears? 

To think that peanut stand, the toil of years 

Should for the want of patronage decay 

And trade and barter turn some other way. 

They all agreed this could not be allowed, 

And boisterous bellowings agitate the crowd ! 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ?oj 



The tide of apparent prosperity that had been, for sev- 
eral years, carrying all this section of the eountry toward 
supposed riehes and a speedy development, was fictitious 
in a high degree, and when the day of settlement and 
reckoning came, Cleveland was compelled to bear its share 
of the burden — and it was one of severity that had to be 
carried for years. 

The whole west, and the country at large, felt the 
effect of these same memorable " hard times " of 1837. 
Speculation had been raging fiercely, values were set far 
in excess of actual worth, cities were springing up on 
paper in all directions, State and municipal credits were 
extended to railroad and canal enterprises far in excess 
of the needs of the country, or its ability to pay. An im- 
mense number of banks had been chartered, as a result 
of the closing of the United States bank, the greater 
number of which possessed capital far short of the 
amount of currency put forth. Many of them, especially 
in the west and south, had no capital at all. The bills 
they issued were accepted everywhere, with hardly a 
thought of the possibility of their redemption in coin. 

Private credit could be had everywhere. An immense 
amount of business — on a paper basis — was being done, 
and everybody seemed to be getting rich. 

This flush and speculative era had an especially marked 
effect upon the two cities at the mouth of the Cuyahoga. 
The location, and the presence of the canal, marked Cleve- 
land as a point to be especially moved by the sure promise 
of a brilliant future, and speculation raged here with great 
vigor. No one seemed to see that with few manufactures, 
and a poorly developed agricultural section to draw upon, a 
great city could not be supported, even though faith and 
solid capital should unite in its creation ; while a city built 
upon speculative enthusiasm and promises to pay could 
have small hope of permanent prosperity. Ventures of 
the wildest character were entered upon ; there was a 
haste upon the part of all to be rich, and the whole country 
plunged ahead, putting forth unlimited promises to pay, 



3 02 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



and taking little heed as to the day or means of payment. 
The top-wave was touched in 1836, and in [837 came 
the wreck. 

Bank after bank went down in the storm. Mercan- 
tile houses, companies, individuals, failed by the hun- 
dreds and thousands. The wild railroad, canal, and 
other schemes of public improvement, went to the wall. 
Ruin was upon every hand. The ties were left to rot 

upon the half-finished 
railroads ; the half- 
dug canal filled up, 
and lay a stagnant 
pool ; the ships stood 
unfinished upon the 
stocks ; paper cities 
vanished into thin air ; 
fortunes melted in a 
moment ; municipali- 
ties were ruined, and 
State credits im- 
paired ; money that 
was good for one hun- 
dred cents upon the 
dollar yesterday, be- 
came but worthless 
rags to-day. In Cleve- 
land, the great major- 
ity of the business houses failed. Land values sank to a 
low figure ; a blow had been sent home to the little city 
that was felt for years, as we shall see, in various ways, 
in the records that follow. 

There is little of especial moment to note in Cleveland, 
either in 1837 or 1838. There was practically no growth 
from 1836 to 1 840; those who were here were repairing 
their shattered fortunes as best they could, and hoping 
for better times. The records show that only matters of 
routine occupied the attention of law-makers and ex- 
ecutive officers. 




ST. MARY S CHURCH OX "THE FLATS. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



303 



It was during- these years that the first Catholic ehureh 
of Cleveland came into cxistenee. Rev. John Dillon, the 
first resident priest, had held service for a time in Shake- 
speare Hall, on Union lane, his congregation numbering 
but five families. He went to New York and collected a 
thousand dollars and more for the erection of a church 
here, but death ended his career before he could carry 
this purpose into execution. He was succeeded by Rev. 
P. O'Dwyer, who was soon enabled to commence the 
erection of the edifice known as St. Mary's on the Flats. 
The church was completed, and mass celebrated for the 
first time toward the end of 1838. When Rev. Amadeus 
Rappe, first bishop of the diocese of Cleveland, took pos- 
session of his see in 1847, ne 
made St. Mary's his cathedral, 
and such it remained until the 
completion of the new cathe- 
dral, on Erie and Superior 
streets, in 1852. 

By 1840, Cleveland began 
slowly to emerge from the 
disastrous effects of the days 
of inflation and subsequent 
ruin, and to turn a hopeful 
face toward the future. The 
census showed her population 
(in Cleveland township) to 
be about seven thousand. 81 William A. Otis, in this year, 
established his iron works, the first of any importance in 
Cleveland, and thus gave an impetus to local manufactur- 
ing. The infant industry of coal mining had developed 
somewhat, and Cleveland began to be something of a 
market for the sale of that product. Of general business, 




I /ghJ^iA 



BISHOP AMADEUS RAPPE. 



81 The census of 1840 gives the population of Cuyahoga County as 
25,542, divided as follows : Cleveland, 7,037; Mayfield, 852; Orange, 1,114; 
Solon, 774; Euclid, 1,774; Warrensville, 1,085; Bedford, 2,021; Newburg, 
1,342; Independence, 754; Brecksville, 1,124; Brooklyn, 1,409; Parma, 
965; Royalton, 1,051; Rockport, 1,151; Middleburgh, 339; Strongsville, 
1,151; Dover, 960; Olmstead, 659. 






THE HISTORY OF CLEl'ELAXD. 



we learn the following, quoted from a newspaper article 
of that year : ' ' Business is slowly but gradually improving 
in this section. We begin to feel somewhat the influence of 
the cross-cut canal from Beaver to Akron, by the arrival of 
many kinds of goods in the hardware line, that we used 
to be supplied with from Xew York and Boston, but which 
can now be procured from Pittsburgh at a saving of more 
than half in time, and twenty-five per cent, in cost." 

Passing reference has been made, from time to time, 
to the business men who constituted the early mercantile 
force of Cleveland, and it seems a fitting place in the 
time of business revival, of which we are speaking, to 
give some details of these pioneer merchants. To 
trace the commercial growth of the city along its most 
natural lines, is to follow the career of these early mer- 
chants, and in so doing, that natural truth, the "survival 
of the fittest," is forced upon the attention. It took, not 
only capital and a commercial aptitude to make headway 
against the drawbacks and difficulties of the early days, 

but courage, strength of 
mind and body, and a quiet 
patience that could wait for 
its reward. There were 
many men in whom such 
qualities could be found. 
There was John Blair, whose 
early venture here has been 
already described. Philo 
Scovill. who afterwards 
made a fortune in other 
lines, came to Cleveland 
as a merchant, bringing 
with him a stock of drugs and groceries. This line of 
trade did not suit him. and he soon worked out of it. 
Melancthon Barnett. father of General James Barnett, 
came to Cleveland in 1825, as a clerk for Mr. May, and 
soon found himself a partner in the firm of May & Bar- 
nett. In 1843, they wound up their affairs as merchants. 




MAYoR ARNER C. BROWXELL. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. joj 

and took a hand in the wonderful land speculations of 
those days. The leather and dry-goods store of Joel 
Scranton, on the corner of Superior and Water streets, 
was for a long 1 time one of the old landmarks. Orlando 
Cutter was for years or.e of the hard-working- merchants 
of Cleveland. Peter M. Weddell, who had already 
shown great aptitude for business, came to Cleveland in 
1820, and established himself here, taking a stand at once 
among the leading business men of the place. In 1825, 
he formed a partnership with Edmund Clade, from Buf- 
falo, and retired from an active participation in trade. 
Three years later this connection was dissolved, and in 
183 1, he formed a new one with G. C. Woods and Dudley 
Baldwin, under the firm name of P. M. Weddell & Co. 
Four years later, Mr. Woods left the city, and Messrs. 
Weddell and Baldwin continued together until 1845. Mr. 
Baldwin had been a clerk for Mr. Weddell before the 
partnership was formed, and after its dissolution he gave 
some time to the closing up of the firm's affairs, and then 
went into other lines of activity. Norman C. Baldwin's 
first mercantile venture in Cleveland was as a member of 
the firm of Merwin & Baldwin, his partner being Noble 
H. Merw r in, and their line produce. It was succeeded, in 
1830, by Giddings, Baldwin & Co., which became one of 
the most important forwarding and commission houses 
on the lake. Richard Winslow was a strong addition 
to the mercantile strength of Cleveland, when he de- 
cided on making this point his home, in 1830. He not 
only brought energy, but capital as well, and immediately 
opened a large grocery store on Superior street, opposite 
Union lane. He soon invested in the lake vessel busi- 
ness, and the boats he set afloat were seen on all the great 
lakes. S. H. Sheldon, in after years better known as a 
lumber man, opened his business life in this neighborhood 
by keeping a drug store on Detroit street, in what was 
then Ohio City. He sold out in 1842, but was afterward 
for a short time in the grocery line. Alexander Sackett, 
who had received a fine mercantile training in New York 



S o6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



City, in 1835, opened a wholesale and retail dry-goods 
store in Mr. Weddell's block on Superior street. He re- 
mained in that line until 1854, when he went into com- 
mercial business on the river. Charles Bradburn com- 
menced his long and honorable career in Cleveland in 
1836, when he opened a wholesale and retail grocery store 
on Superior street, next to the old city buildings. The 
next year he enlarged his establishment, and in 1840, 
moved to his new warehouse at the foot of St. Clair 
street, abandoning the retail branch. In 1854, he again 
moved, to numbers 58 and 60 River street, where he re- 
mained for a number of years. He was one of the 
most useful citizens Cleveland ever possessed, and a fore- 
most spirit in all educational matters. About 1835, 
Samuel Raymond and Henry W. and Marvin Clark 
opened a dry-goods store on the corner of Superior street 
and the Public Square, where the Rouse Block now stands. 
They occupied a little wooden building, and the location 
was about as far east as business then dare venture. 
Richard T. Lyon arrived here in 1823, and in 1838 be- 
came a clerk in the forwarding house of Griffith, Standart 
& Co., continuing there until 1841, when he formed a 
partnership with J. L. Hewitt, and carried on a forward- 
ing and commission business on River street, under the 
firm name of Hewitt & Lyon. Thomas A. Walton was 
one of the well-known commission merchants, opening a 
business on the river. George Worthington's hardware 
store was opened in Cleveland in 1834, on the corner of 
Superior street and Union lane ; three years later it was 
removed to the corner of Water and Superior streets, on 
the site of the National Bank Building of to-day, and there 
it remained for nearly thirty years. N. E. Crittenden came 
here, in 1826, and opened the first jewelry store Cleveland 
possessed. E. P. Morgan's first venture was made here 
in 1 84 1. Robert Hanna's wholesale grocery and forward- 
ing establishment was opened here, in 1852. In 1845, S. 
F. Lester became a member of the old and well-known firm 
of Hubby, Hughes & Co., and when that partnership was 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. S o 7 



dissolved in [858, it was succeeded by the firm of Hughes 

& Lester, which continued until 1S62. The connection 
of Hiram Garretson with the business circles of Cleve- 
land commenced in 1852. A. G. Colwell came in the 
same year; William Edwards in the same year; E. I. 
Baldwin in 1853, and Grove N. Abbey in 1858. 

The chief topic of general interest in Cleveland, during 
1840, was of a political nature, the little city, like its neigh- 
bors everywhere, entering with enthusiasm into the famous 
" Log-Cabin " and " Hard-Cider " presidential campaign 
of that year. General Harrison was warmly supported 
upon the Reserve, which was a Whig stronghold, and his 
followers entered into the fight with an enthusiasm that 
showed itself in many ways, and when the election re- 
sulted in his favor, no city received the news with greater 
joy than Cleveland. 

When the campaign was well under way, it was decided 
that a typical "cabin" should be erected upon each side 
of the river. ' ' The one on the west side, then Ohio City, ' ' 
writes one 82 who has made of these mid-century days an 
interested study, "was built first, and on the 18th of March 
was dedicated. The evening of the dedication the Whigs 
of the east side met at the American House, and headed by 
the Cleveland Grays, marched across to the cabin, which 
was built on the corner of Detroit and Pearl streets. It was 
constructed entirely of logs, and had an oak roof. Within, 
on the walls, hung strips of dried pumpkin and strings of 
dried peppers ; a rifle rested on hooks, while a pouch and 
powder horn hung near by. A split broom stood in one 
corner, and in another was seen a barrel of cider. At the 
meeting, about five hundred people were present. A num- 
ber of speeches were made by local orators, after which a 
glee club sang a campaign song, one verse of which was: 

" Old Tip's the boy to swing the nail. 

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 

And make the Locos all turn pale. 

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!" 

83 O. J. Hodge, who has kindly prepared it for this purpose on request 
of the author. 



joS THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



" The bee for raising the log-cabin on the east side of 
the river — Cleveland — took place on March 30th, and the 
work was commenced at nine o'clock in the morning. 
The day was rainy, but a barrel of hard cider which had 
been contributed for the occasion kept up the spirits of 
the men, and the work went on with a will. The cabin 
was erected on a vacant lot on Superior street, just east of 
the American House, about where the ' Leader' building 
now stands. The towns around Cleveland each con- 
tributed a quantity of logs for the building. Newburg 
brought in a tree very straight, and one hundred and five 
feet long. A pole fastened to it had a flag at the top, on 
which was inscribed: ' Liberty.' On one of the logs 
brought in might have been seen this inscription : 

" With Tip and Tyler 
We'll bust Van's biler!" 

" On another was a keg marked ' Hard Cider.' The 
cabin was 35 by 50 feet in dimensions, and, it was 
claimed, would hold seven hundred people. On each 
side of the entrance was a flagstaff. Opposite the door, 
on the inside, was a large stump, upon which the speak- 
ers addressing the meeting were expected to stand. A 
small black bear had been secured, and fastened with a 
chain to a large cross-beam overhead. There was a rough 
drawing, representing an eagle holding in his talons a 
writhing fox — supposed to be Van Buren. Tin cups, 
spades, shovels, and the inevitable barrel of hard cider 
were in the cabin. 

lt The dedication occurred on April 3d, and the crowd 
present was very large, arid the enthusiasm great. 
There were a number of speeches, and several campaign 
songs enlivened the occasion. The following is a verse 
of the song sung at the close : 

" Come, Buckeye farmers, one and all, 

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
Come Hoosiers and Corncrackers tall, 

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! 
Come Wolverines and Suckers too, 
And fight for him who fought for you ! 

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!" 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, 



?og 



General Harrison paid a visit to Cleveland, on June 
13th of this campaign year, 1840. He came by way of 
the lake, on the steamer " Sandusky," and was escorted 
by the Grays to the American House, where he received the 
citizens, and made an extended speech from the hotel bal- 
cony. He left the city by canal packet, for Akron, ac- 
companied by a number of friends. Two years later, the 
city also was honored by a visit from General Harrison's 
opponent in this historic campaign, Ex-President Martin 
Van Buren, who reached here on July 12th, 1842, and 
was received with many marks of honor. He likewise 
addressed the people from that famous old balcony of 
the American House. 




THE AMERICAN HOUSE. 

In the days we now have under consideration, there 
occurred an incident of direct local interest, and one 
that illustrated somewhat the attitude of the people of 
northern Ohio, at that period, toward the important ques- 
tion of slavery. 

As Cleveland was the principal port upon the lake 
shore in Ohio, and offered unusual facilities for the trans- 
portation of runaway slaves from Kentucky and Virginia 
across to Canada, it became a natural resort for many who 
were fleeing from their masters. Under the laws of the 
country, and somewhat in obedience to public opinion, 
the escaping slaves when arrested here would be turned 



3 io THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



over to those who claimed them, with hardly a question, 
and returned to bondage. 

In 1 84 1, this careless and heartless indifference to the 
rights of such as might be unjustly apprehended, received 
a severe shock that changed the order of things. Three 
slaves, who were supposed to have escaped from New 
Orleans, were found in Buffalo, kidnaped by those who 
claimed them, brought to Cleveland, and placed in jail, 
where they were held under the laws of the United 
States. An application to see them was made by John 
A. Foot and Edward Wade, two of Cleveland's leading 
Abolitionists, which was refused. An application of the 
same tenor was made by Thomas Bolton, who was not an 
Abolitionist, and was immediately granted. Mr. Bolton 
held an interview with the negroes, and decided that he 
would defend them. He did so, in the face of violent 
public opinion and even threats, and with great ability 
and courage, showed up the infamous course of kidnaping 
that had been pursued, and as a result procured the pris- 
oners their discharge. The kidnapers, thereafter, made 
Cleveland the scene of their operations less frequently 
than before. 

A Masonic organization was among the new ventures of 
1 84 1. The charter of Cleveland City Lodge, No. 15, F. 
and A. M., was granted on September 21st of that year. 
Its first meeting was held on the 28th of the same month, 
when the following officers were elected: Clifford Bel- 
den, W. M.; Andrew White, S. IV.; Willard Crawford, 
J. W.; Edmund Clark, treasurer; Erastus Smith, secre- 
tary. Among those who held the office of Worshipful 
Master in the early days of the lodge may be mentioned 
Timothy Ingraham, W. T. Goodwin, H. H. Dodge, A. 
D. Bigelow, S. E. Adams, E. R. Benton, Peter Caul, etc. 
The other Masonic organizations that came into being at 
a little later date, may be briefly mentioned: Iris Lodge, 
No. 229, was organized on October 22nd, 1852. The first 
officers were A. D. Bigelow, W. M.; W. H. Beaumont, 
5. W.; Robert Reiley, /. W. Bigelow Lodge, No. 243, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 311 

was organized on October 20th, [853, but was not grant- 
ed a charter until October 17th, [854, The first officers 
were: Gaston G. Allen, W.M.; Samuel \\\ Odell, 5. 
W. ; Alonxo Eldridge, /. W. ; C. C. Stevens, 5. D. ; 

Stephen Buhrer, /. D. ; H. L. Whitman, treasurer; A. 
H. Dubrey, secretary; L. W. Woolenneber, tyler. Among 
the organizations of Odd Fellows in Cleveland, in the 
earlier clays, were Cleveland Lodge, organized in 1842; 
Erie Lodge, in 1844; Phoenix Lodge, 1854; Cataract 
Lodge, 1855. 

One of the chief events in Cleveland in 1842, was the 
first real attempt at paving. This was on Superior street, 
between the Public Square and the river, and also on 
River street. The plan pursued was somewhat primitive 
in character; the " paving" consisted of the laying down 
of heavy planking crosswise of the street. These planks 
were of use when new and while held firmly in place, 
but when worn out or loosened, the condition of those 
who travelled over them was not one to envy. Down on 
River street, the floods would sometimes rise, and float 
the paving off into the Cuyahoga. 

The year 1843 saw the beginning, in Cleveland, of an 
institution that has had a long and useful career, and is 
still counted one of the great educational features of the 
middle west. This was the CleAxland Medical College. 
Its origin is exceedingly interesting, as illustrating 
through what minor causes even great institutions some- 
times come into existence. The township of Chagrin (now 
Willoughby), some twenty miles east of Cleveland, was 
one of the first towns, on the Western Reserve, to possess 
a circulating library. The books were well selected, and 
out of the study and literary interest they aroused, there 
grew a nourishing lyceum and debating society. Lect- 
ures on historical and scientific questions were given, 
and the current questions of the day discussed. Out 
of this, a somew^hat ambitious project, " The Willoughby 
University of Lake Erie," was born. Dr. George W. 
Card, Judge N. Allen, J. Lapham, Samuel Wilson, and 



3 12 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



others, were among its founders. It possessed a regular 
faculty, a board of trustees, president, secretary and 
treasurer. The medical faculty was constituted as fol- 
lows: H. A. Ackley, M.D., professor of anatomy; 
Amasa Trowbridge, professor of surgery; Daniel L. M. 
Piexotto, M.D., professor of theory and practice of 
medicine; J. Lang Cassells, M.D., professor of chemistry; 
William M. Smith, M.D., professor of Materia Medica 
and botany. Some of these instructors were known 
favorably already, and have left since a deep impress 
upon the medical history of the west. 

In 1835-6, this University possessed twenty-three stu- 
dents; five were graduated with the title of M.D., in 
the year last named. A three-story brick building was 
erected for the use of the institution. It was the hope of 
the founders to build up a great medical college in Wil- 

loughby, but after a year or 
so of struggle it was seen 
necessary to move it to a 
larger place, and Cleveland 
was naturally the choice of 
the majority. 

It was in the fall of 1843 
that this decision was made. 
Drs. John Delamater, Jared 
P. Kirtland, John L. Cassells, 
and Noah Worcester, who 
were then members of the 
faculty, favored Cleveland, 
while Dr. Starling's choice 
was Columbus, and as he owned a controlling interest, he 
carried the day, went to the city named, and founded the 
Starling Medical College. The other physicians went 
to Cleveland, and as they did not wish to wait for 
a charter, the only legal process of incorporation, they 
applied to the Western Reserve College (afterwards 
Western Reserve University), at Hudson, for organiza- 
tion as the medical department thereof. The privilege 




DR. JAKKI) 1'. KIRTLAND. 



7 V//-; HIS TORY OF CL E I ■ EL A ND. 



3*3 



was granted, and in that way the Cleveland Medical College 
came into being as a department of the older organization. 

A building was erected on the corner of St. Clair and 
Erie streets. 88 The first facility consisted of John Dela- 
mater, Jared P. Kirtland, Horace A. Ackley, J. L. Cas- 
sells, Noah Worcester, Samuel St. John, and Jacob J. 
Delamater, all physicians. The institution started im- 
mediately upon its long, honorable, and prosperous career. 

Two of the older 
church societies of 
Cleveland were also 
organized in 1843. 
The United Pres- 
byterian Church 
began with eleven 
members, on No- 
vember 5th, in the 
Hancock Block, on 
the corner of Su- 
perior and Seneca 
streets. The first 
ruling elders chos- 
en were I. Camp- 
bell, J. Dodds, and 
D. Pollock. In two 
or three years a 
church building wa s 
erected, on the 
southwest corner of 
Michigan and Sen- 
eca streets; while, 
in 1 8 5 3 , a larger and 

more commodious house of worship was erected on Erie 
street, near Huron street. 

83 This building, which had become one of the best known of the land- 
marks of early Cleveland, has given place to a handsome, modern struc- 
ture erected by the generosity of John L. Woods, one of Cleveland's most 
successful lumber merchants. Its cost was near $175,000. The dedica- 
tion services occurred on March 8th, 1887. 




THE PRESENT SECOND PRESRYTERI AN CHURCH. 



'/-/ 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



The Euclid Avenue Congregational Church was organ- 
ized on November 30th, 1843, by Rev. Dr. S. C. Aiken 
and Rev. S. C. Cady, with a membership of nineteen. 
The name first chosen was that of ' ' The First Presbyterian 
Church of East Cleveland," but changed to Congrega- 
tional, in 1852, because of the attitude of the Presbyterian 
Church toward slavery. The first services were held 
in a building, known as the kl old stone schoolhouse," be- 
tween Republic and Doan streets, near Euclid avenue. 
Various other places of gathering were used until 1 849, 
when a new building on the corner of Euclid avenue 
and Doan street was dedicated, and in that the soci- 
ety found a permanent home. 
On June 12th, 1844, the Sec- 
ond Presbyterian Church of 
Cleveland was organized. The 
membership roll contained 
fifty-eight names, fifty-three 
of which were of former mem- 
bers of the First Presbyterian 
Church. The first meetings 
were held in a building on 
Rockwell street, which was 
used until a church edifice was 
erected on Superior street, east 
of the Public Square, and the 
basement first occupied in 1 8 5 1 . 
The first pastor of the church 
was Rev. Sherman B. Canfield, 
who officiated from 1 844 to 1854, and the first officers were as 
follows: Elders, David Long, Henry Sexton, Jeremiah Holt, 
Eli P. Morgan, Jesse F. Taintor and Samuel H. Mather; 
Deacons, William A. Otis, T. P. Handy, and S. H. Fox. 
In 1876, the church building was consumed by fire ; and an 
elegant new structure, on the corner of Prospect street 
and Sterling avenue, was completed and dedicated in 1878. 
Indeed, this period seems to have been quite prolific 
in the way of churches and church-building. Trinity 




st. Paul's episcopal church, 1856. 



THE HISTORY ()/■' CLEVELAND. 3/3 



Church had grown to such proportions that relief of some 
character was demanded, and on Julv 9th, [845, the parish 
of Grace Church was organized as an answer to this de- 
mand. A lot was purchased at the corner of Erie and 
Huron streets, on which a substantial brick structure was 
erected. The first rector was Rev. Alexander Varian, 
who officiated from 1846 to 1849. St. Paul's Episcopal 
Church also was organized on October 26th, 1846, with a 
membership of forty-five. 

The development of these days, however, was not al- 
together upon the religious side of the life of Cleveland. 
Literary and material things were receiving their due 
share of attention. The Young Men's Literary Associa- 
tion was one of the events of 1845. The germ of this 
idea had been one of rather slow growth. As far back as 
1 8 1 1 some seventeen Clevelanders had associated them- 
selves together for the establishment of a library, but the 
war of 1 8 12 and the subsequent hard times intervened, 
and nothing was accomplished. In 1824, the Cleveland 
Forum, devoted principally to public debates, came into 
being, but after a few years of uncertain life it went into 
the limbo of discarded things. In 1833, a lyceum was 
formed with something of the same purpose, and in 1835 
a reading-room was established through the generous con- 
tributions of citizens. In 1836, the Young Men's Literary 
Association was organized, which also set out to form a 
library, but it was dissolved in 1843. 

The organization that was formed in 1845 under the 
same name achieved a more permanent success. In 1848, 
it was incorporated under the name of the Cleveland Li- 
brary Association, with two hundred shares of stock at 
ten dollars each. A course of lectures was maintained 
for a number of years, but the main purpose in view was 
the accumulation of a library. A small room on Superior 
street was occupied for several years, then one in the 
" Herald" building; subsequently one at No. 221 Superior 
street, in 1856; and finally, in 1862, the Case Building. 
Here it received a perpetual lease of the rooms from the 



3* 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



heirs of William Case, who had been a devoted friend of 
the Association. In 1870, the charter was so changed that 
the control was placed in the hands of five directors, 
elected for life. The first board consisted of Samuel Will- 
iamson, James Barnett, H. M. Chapin, William Bingham, 
and B. A. Stanard. The revenues were greatly enlarged by 
the gift of twenty-five thousand dollars from Leonard Case 
[Sr.],who, in 1876, followed this by the munificent donation 
of Case Block, which lifted the Association not only beyond 
any question of want, but placed the Case Library among 
the great libraries and literary institutions of the west. 

Several enterprises, of a direct material benefit, also 
were noted as evidences of the returning prosperity that 




THE WEDDELL HOUSE. 



set in about 1845-6. The erection of the Weddell House, 
on the corner of Superior and Bank streets, was one of 
these. It immediately took rank as one of the leading 
hotels of the west. On February 6th, 1846, the Cleve- 
land Gas Light & Coke Company was organized, which 
indicated that the city had begun to figure upon metropol- 
itan ways in real earnest. Nothing was done under this 
authority, however, until 1848, when the control of mat- 
ters passed into the hands of Moses G. Younglove, 
through whose efforts works were constructed, the laying 
of pipes commenced, and the citizens permitted to enjoy 
the luxury of gas. 



CHAPTER Mil. 

THE RAILROAD ERA. 

The history of the railroad lines that first connected 
Cleveland with the outside world is one of struggle and 
labor; of disappointment, loss, and final triumph; of pa- 
tient endeavor on the part of patriotic citizens; and of 
a faith that held its own until the day of results that was 
a justification of all that had gone before. This city owes 
a debt of gratitude, that can never be repaid, to the little 
band through whose energy and capital her first railroads, 
and therefore her subsequent prosperity, were made pos- 
sible. 

The modest local line, that for a time connected New- 
burg and Cleveland, has been described. Other lines of 
similar character were proposed from time to time, but 
they came to nothing. 

The first of any moment that proposed to make Cleve- 
land one of its stopping places, of which we can find rec- 
ord, was an ambitious project suggested by DeWitt Clin- 
ton (not the governor), in 1829. He published a plan of a 
line to be called the Great Western Railway, that was to 
find its starting place in New York City, thence to the 
Tioga and following that, intersecting the head waters 
of the Genesee and Allegheny rivers, thence to Lake 
Erie, following its southern shore line, crossing the Cuy- 
ahoga, Sandusky, Maumee and Wabash rivers, and on to 
where Rock River enters the Mississippi. The route cov- 
ered a distance of 1,050 miles, and the estimated cost was 
fifteen million dollars. It is perhaps needless to say that 
it was never built. 

The next project that interested the people of Cleve- 
land and of Ohio — to their serious cost — came some seven 
years later. The Ohio Railroad Company came forward 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



with a plan that was to secure all the benefits of the rail- 
road at a cost far below that of lines already built or in 
course of construction. This was to be accomplished by 
placing the tracks on a double row of piles, or posts, upon 
which planks were to be placed edgewise, and bolted 
together. 

The Ohio Railroad Company was organized at the 
Mansion House, Painesville, on April 25th, 1836. Its in- 
corporators were : R. Harper, Eliphalet Austin, Thomas 
Richmond, G. W. Card, Heman Ely, John W. Allen, John 
G. Camp, P. M. Weddell, Edwin Byington, James Post, 
Eliphalet Redington, Charles C. Paine, Storm Rosa, Rice 
Harper, Henry Phelps, and H. J. Reese. 

In considering the expansive charter under which the 
company was to work, we must remember that it was ob- 
tained at a time when state legislatures were disposed to 
grant anything to corporations that promised to create 
great wealth out of nothing, and when the country was 
in the wildest state of speculation of that great specula- 
tive decade. It was obtained through the efforts of Nehe- 
miah Allen, of Willoughby, who then represented his 
county in the Legislature, and who became president of 
the company. 

The company was allowed not only wide latitude in all 
matters relating to legitimate railroad building, but was 
given also banking privileges, including the issuing of 
money, as the holders of some three or four hundred 
thousand dollars' worth of their bills eventually discov- 
ered to their cost. In addition to this, it received the 
benefit of a remarkable act passed by the Ohio Legisla- 
ture on March 24th, 1837. 84 It was a measure, possible 
only to days of reckless speculation and an irresponsible 
administration of public affairs. It provided that the 
State should loan its credit in six per cent, stock to the 
amount of one-third of the authorized capital if the other 

* 4 This measure was described by itself as "An Act to authorize a Loan 
of Credit by the State of Ohio to Railroad Companies, — also to Turnpike, 
Canal and Slackwater Navigation Companies." It was generally de- 
scribed as " The Plunder Law," after its character was understood. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



two-thirds had been paid in "to the companies organized 
to build railroads," etc., which made tin: State a partner, 
to the extent of one-third, in all the reckless schemes that 
might be set afloat. The State issued its bonds to the 
amount named, and received company stock to the same 
amount in return. 

The great advantage given a corporation by this meas- 
ure can be seen at a glance. The law was repealed on 
March 17th, 1840, when a great loss had been put upon 
the State, and at a time when many new companies were 
being formed for added schemes of public plunder. 85 

The plan of the Ohio Railroad Company was to run a 
line from the western edge of Pennsylvania to a point on 
the Maumee River, near the present city of Toledo. 
Two great cities were to be created as a part of the 
scheme. One was Richmond, on the Grand River, be- 
tween Fairport, on Lake Erie, and Painesville, four miles 
to the south, and the oilier was Manhattan, on the Mau- 
mee River, three or four miles north of Toledo. 

A glowing prospectus was issued, capital enlisted, and 
plans prepared. The first pile was driven in Fremont 
on June 19th, 1839. The details of actual construction, 
and the methods employed in this unique specimen of 
railroad building were as follows: A roadway, 100 feet in 
width, was prepared; 112 piles and 1,056 ties Avere used 
in each mile; the piles running from 7 to 28 feet in 
length, according to the grade, and from 12 to 16 inches in 
diameter ; the ties were 9 feet long, and 8 inches in diam- 
eter. " The piles Avere driven by a machine, consisting 
of tAA r o sills, 30 or 40 feet long, placed parallel Avith each 
other, at a distance of 7 feet, that being the Avidth of the 
track. At the forAvard end of these sills Avere erected 
four timbers, termed ' leaders,' 30 feet high, between 
Avhich, on each side, the iron hammers, Aveighing one- 
half a ton each, were raised and let fall upon the pile. A 

85 The grand total of Ohio's investments under this law was as follows: 
Railroads, $751,915; turnpikes, $1,853,365; canals, $600,000. Total, 
$3,205,280. The returns were very much less. 



3 2o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



circular saw, attached to a shaft projecting between the 
leaders, cut the pile to the proper grade, when the driver 
was moved and the operation repeated. These machines 
employed eight men and drove about forty piles per day, 
covering- some twenty rods in distance. Upon the head 
of each pair of piles was fitted a tie, 8x8 inches, in which 
a gain was cut nine inches wide and four deep, the tie 
being pinned down through this gain with a two-inch 
cedar pin; but before this was done, half a pint of salt 
was deposited in the auger hole of each pile, which, 
permeating the wood, was expected materially to preserve 
the same from decay. A locomotive saw-mill upon the 
track, and behind the pile driver, attended by three men, 
prepared the rails at the rate of 900 lineal feet per day. 
These rails or stringers were 8x8, and 15 feet in length. 
On the wood stringers thus provided were to be placed 
iron ('strap') rails, of the weight of twenty-five tons to 
the mile. Behind all, upon the. prepared track, was a 
boarding house for the work hands, which moved with 
the rest of the establishment." 85a 

The main portion of the work was done between Fre- 
mont and Manhattan, with some sections to the eastward, 
near the Cuyahoga River. Some of these piles were still 
in evidence fifty and more years later. Misfortune over- 
took the enterprise at an early day, as was inevitable in 
the very nature of things. The panic of 1837, the repeal 
of "The Plunder Law," quarrels among those who favored 
Manhattan and those who favored Richmond, and the in- 
herent weakness of the whole scheme, worked together 
and brought on a total collapse. This came in 1843. 
How total it was, can be learned from the report made 
by the Auditor of State in December of the same year. 
Said he : " The original subscriptions to the stock of 
the company were $1,991,766. Of this sum, only 813,980 
had been paid in cash; 88, 000 or 810,000 in labor and 
material; and 8533,776 in lands and town lots. These have 

s-oa a The Ohio Railroad: That Famous Structure built on Stilts," by C. 
P. Leland. "Western Reserve Historical Society's Tract No. Si. 



THE HIS TO R V O F CL E I ' EL AXD. 



been reported as a basis for the credit of the State; also, 
there has been added $293,660 in donations of lands for 
right-of-way, all of which of course are conditioned to 
revert upon failure to complete the work. The lands re- 
ceived in payment of subscriptions were all taken at the 
most extravagant rates." He further showed that the 
amount received by the company, from the State, was 
$249,000, for which it had in return "some sixty-three 
miles of wooden superstructure laid on piles, a consider- 
able portion of which is already rotten, and the remainder 
going rapidly to decay. " In 1 845 , the Legislature passed a 
law authorizing the board of public works to sell the 
whole concern. But little, if anything, was realized. 

There were other projects 
put forward, in the same 
year which saw the incor- 
poration of the Ohio Rail- 
road Company, that came to 
little or nothing in the forms 
in which they were then pro- 
posed. These were : The 
Cleveland, Warren & Pitts- 
burg Railroad Company, 86 
leading from Cleveland to 
the State line, or some other 
point on the Ohio River in 
the direction of Pittsburg; 

the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad Company, 
leading from Cleveland to Cincinnati by way of Colum- 
bus ; and the Cleveland & Erie Railroad Company, from 
Cleveland to Ravenna. 

The panic of 1837 blocked these measures for a time. 

86 The " Cleveland Herald " of January 26th, 1S36, states, with no small 
pride, that the engineers of the Cleveland, Warren & Pittsburg Railroad had 
reached Cleveland on the previous day, and adds, that "everything con- 
nected with this improvement seems to progress with an activity and spirit 
which promises the most favorable results. ' ' Stock was readily subscribed 
to a large amount, and at a meeting held on May 12th the organization of a 
board of directors was effected, with Mayor John W. Willey as president. 




MAYOR WILLIAM K. CASTLE. 



3 22 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

The subsequent history of each is practically the story of 
the railroads of Cleveland, and each may be taken up in 
the order of relative importance. 

The charter of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati 
Railroad was granted on March 14th, 1836. It lay dormant 
until 1845, when it was revived, revised, and amended by 
an act of March 12th, so as to permit it to build as far as 
Columbus, but not compelling it to go any further than that 
point. It also was permitted to ''unite with any other, 
then, or thereafter, constructed under authority of the gen- 
eral assembly, leading from any point at, or near, Lake Erie 
to, or towards, the southern part of the State." 8T A new 
company was organized, with John W. Allen, Richard 
Hilliard, John M. AVoolsey, and Henry B. Payne, as the 
Cleveland directors, and John W. Allen, as president. 
The City of Cleveland, in encouragement of the enter- 
prise, voted to loan its credit to the extent of two hun- 
dred thousand dollars. 

There were many difficulties in the way, but one by 
one they were surmounted. Capitalists abroad were un- 
willing to lend their aid. A canvass of the city resulted 
in securing a subscription of but twenty-five thousand 
dollars. Mr. Woolsey was sent to Cincinnati to negotiate 
the bonds subscribed by the city, and to Philadelphia and 
New York to enlist the aid of the capitalists of those 
cities. The latter part of his mission was a failure. In 
the spring of 1847, it looked as though the whole thing 
would have to be given up in despair, but help came 
through the willing effort of two influential and sagacious 
men. Richard Hilliard and Henry B. Payne agreed to 

* : "In the spring of 1846 there were three or four rival projects for a road 
to Columbus from the Lake, but none of them were unfriendly to Cleve- 
land. We called a meeting of all the commissioners at Mansfield, and at 
our request they all agreed to give us six months to enable us to carry 
out our project, and, if we were successful, they would rest quietly as to 
theirs." Mr. Allen relates at some length the steps then taken, and 
adds: " Out of these devices grew this road of great and immediate 
importance to Cleveland. " — "Our First Attempt at Railroad Building," 
by John W. Allen; — "Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 
5, p- 96. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



devote three months of earnest personal effort to one final 
attempt, and so well did they apply themselves that ad- 
ditional subscriptions to the amount of forty thousand 
dollars were obtained, and the skies began to clear. 

Alfred lvelley, then of Columbus, aecepted the position 
of president, and thus a new source of influenee and 
strength was added. Another fortunate move was made 
when the managers prevailed upon Frederick Harbach, 
Amasa Stone and Stillman Witt, to undertake the con- 
struction of the line ; and they agreed to take the principal 
portion of their pay in stock. 

An episode which illustrates the difficulties they had in 
keeping the charter alive, and the low ebb to which the 
enterprise was at one time reduced, is related by George 
F. Marshall, ss one of the actors therein, as follows: " In 
order to save the charter, it was thought best to make a 
show of work on the line already surveyed. One bright 
autumn forenoon about a dozen men got themselves to- 
gether near the ground now occupied by the A. & G. W. 
Railway depot, with the noble purpose of inaugurating the 
work of building the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati 
Railroad. Among the number was Alfred Kelley, the pres- 
ident, T. P. Handy, the treasurer. J. H. Sargent, the engi- 
neer, James A. Briggs, the attorney, and H. B. Payne, Oliver 
Perry, John A. Foot and others, besides your humble 
servant. On that memorable spot one could look upon 
those vast fields of bottom land, and nothing could be 
seen but unbroken wide meadows : the brick residence of 
Joel Scranton on the north, and the ruins of an old mill in 
the ravine of Walworth Run on the south, were the only 
show of buildings in all that region roundabout. These 
gentlemen had assembled to inaugurate the work on the 
railway, yet there was a sadness about them that could be 
felt ; there was something that told them that it would be 
difficult to make much of a railroad without money and 
labor. Yet they came on purpose to make a show of a 

88 "A Sketch of Early Times m Cleveland," by George F. Marshall. — 
" Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. i, p. 102. 



324 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

beginning. Alfred took a shovel and with his foot pressed 
it well into the soft and willing earth, plaeing a good 
chunk in the tranquil wheelbarrow close at hand, repeat- 
ing the operation until a load was attained, and dumping 
it a rod or so to the south. We all shouted a good sized 
shout that the road was really inaugurated. Then Mr. 
Handy did a little of the same work as well as Sargent 
and Briggs, while I sat on the nearest log rejoicing to see 
the work going so lively and in such able hands. The 
fact was demonstrated that the earth was willing, if man 
would only keep the shovel, the pick and wheelbarrow 
moving lively according to this beginning. All that fall 
and winter one man was kept at work on the great enter- 
prise simply to hold the charter, with a hope that some- 
thing would turn up to enable the directors to push things 
with a greater show for ultimate success. During the 
winter that followed, any one passing up Pittsburg 
street near the bluff could see day by day the progress 
this one-man power was making in his work. Foot by 
foot each day the brown earth could be seen gaining on 
the white snow on the line towards Columbus, and hope 
remained lively in the breast of everyone that saw the 
progress, that if the physical powers of that solitary 
laborer held out long enough, he would some day be able 
to go to State's prison by rail." 

Success so crowned the efforts of the earnest men who 
had this great project in hand, that on February 21st, 
185 1, the first through train was run from Columbus to 
Cleveland, 89 bearing the members of the general assembly, 
State officers, and many prominent citizens from the capi- 
tal, and from along the line. It was a day of great re- 

89 ' ' The road was so far finished that trains were run over its entire 
length, from Columbus to Cleveland, on the 21st of February last, but the 
road could not be considered as fully open for regular business operations 
before the 1st of April. Since that time a large and profitable business has 
been done — larger, and more profitable, it is believed, in proportion to the 
amount of capital invested, than has been done on any other road in the 
United States for the first eight months after its being opened for use." — 
Extract from the report of President Alfred Kelley for 1S51. 



77//; HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



325 



joicing in the city, which now for the first time found 
itself in actual steam connection with the outside world. 
Ample preparations were made to make the event of a 
character to reflect credit upon Cleveland. A special 
meeting of the City Council was held on February 13th, 
at which a formal invitation was extended to the governor 
of the State, the members of the Legislature, the heads of 
the various State departments, and the mayors and city 
officials of Columbus and Cincinnati, to visit Cleveland 
on Washington's birthday, and participate in the formal 
opening of the railway. A committee of arrangements 
and reception was appointed, consisting of Messrs. Gill, 
Mcintosh, and Stedman. The 
invitation was cordially ac- 
cepted, and the occasion was 
one of great rejoicing. The 
11 Herald's" extended report of 
the celebration says: " On 
Saturday, as we saw Buckeyes' 
from the banks of the Ohio 
and the rich valleys of the 
Miami and the Scioto mingling 
their congratulations with 
those of the Yankee Reserve, 
upon the completion of an im- 
provement, which served to 
bring them into business and 
break down the barriers which 
ignorance of each other had built up, we felt that the 
completion of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Rail- 
road would be instrumental in accomplishing a good work 
for Ohio, the value of which no figures could compute. 
• • • On the morning of the twenty-first, the members 
of the Legislature, the State officers, the councils of Cin- 
cinnati and Columbus, and citizens of Columbus and Cin- 
cinnati, in all four hundred and twenty-eight persons, left 
the capital on the C. C. & C. Railroad cars, for a visit to 
Cleveland, as guests. On their arrival, they were greeted 




MAYOR GEORGE B. SENTER. 

social connection, and to 
distance, prejudice, and 



32 6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



by discharges of artillery, and the welcome of thousands 
of our citizens." 

A grand procession was formed, and the guests were 
escorted to the Public Square, where an address of wel- 
come was delivered by Mayor William Case. Hon. C. C. 
Converse, president of the State Senate, responded. 
Samuel Starkweather then delivered the oration of the 
day, and speeches were made by Alfred Kelley, Henry B. 
Payne, Mr. Pugh, of Cincinnati, Governor Reuben Wood, 
and Cyrus Prentiss, president of the Cleveland & Pitts- 
burg Railroad Company. The visitors were then taken 
to Hudson, over the last named line. 90 On the return to 
Cleveland a banquet was served at the Weddell House. 
A torch-light procession paraded, the city firemen taking 
a leading part. On the Sabbath, Dr. Aiken preached a 
powerful sermon on railroads in the Stone Church, and on 
Monday the visitors departed for home, leaving Cleveland 
to settle down to the realities of every- day life. 

By act of the Ohio Legislature, on March 14th, 1836, the 
same day on which that of the above described road was 
passed, a charter was granted to the Cleveland, Warren & 
Pittsburg Railroad Company, permitting it to construct a 
line from Cleveland to the eastern border of Ohio, and 
there to connect with any road built under the laws of 
Pennsylvania. As all railroad experience was limited in 
those days, in matters of legislation as well as actual opera - 

90 The details of this expedition are graphically set forth by R. F. 
Smith, general manager of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railway Company, 
in a communication to the Board of Trade, in 1S71 : " The general assem- 
bly, with the governor and various other officers of the State, having passed 
over the line of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati, from Cincinnati to 
Cleveland, celebrating its opening to the public, were, on the twenty-second 
of February, 1S51, invited to visit the thriving village of Hudson, before 
their return to the substantial realities of life at the capital. This trip was 
accomplished by the honorable gentlemen, not, however, without experi- 
encing upon the rough and unballasted track of the incipient highway, the 
vicissitudes incidental to railroad life. Owing to some misunderstanding, 
the supply of edibles at Hudson was far too meagre, and the train getting 
off the track upon the return trip, the excursionists were detained to a late 
hour of the night, but eventually their honors were landed again in the 
city upon the lake shore, a hungrier if not a wiser and happier set of men." 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, 327 



tion, the charter was broad in its scope and loose in its 
provisions. It allowed the president and directors to issue 
and sell stoek to any limit that their desires or neeessities 
might direct, gave them permission to select any route 
they might ehoose, to condemn land, and to propel their 
cars by any motive power they might prefer. The same 
evil days that befell the connection between the Forest City 
and Cincinnati, disturbed and delayed the venture toward 
the southeast, and the same revival of confidence that set 
the one afloat had a similar effect upon the other. 

An act of revival and amendment was passed on March 
nth, 1845, an d the route was changed from ''the most 
direct in the direction of Pittsburg," to "the most di- 
rect, practicable, and least expensive route to the Ohio 
River, at the most suitable point." The company was or- 
ganized at Ravenna, in October, 1845. James Stewart, of 
Wellsville, was elected president, A. G. Cattell, secretary, 
and Cyrus Prentiss, treasurer. Preliminary arrangements 
were made as speedily as possible, and the usual amount 
of labor and responsibility placed upon the shoulders of 
the willing few. The history is similar to that of its 
neighbor, and its final triumph and usefulness formed a 
parallel thereto. In July, 1847, the first contracts were let 
from "Wellsville northward, and the actual work com- 
menced. The Cleveland end of the line dragged, some- 
what, through lack of money, and it was not until 1849 
that the last of the work was let. By legislation had in 
February of that year, the City of Cleveland was author- 
ized to subscribe to the capital stock of the company. In 
February, 185 1, the long trial began to have an ending, 
and the line was opened from Cleveland to Hudson, in 
March to Ravenna, and in November to Hanover. 01 In 

91 " In March (1851), the track was constructed to Ravenna, and in No- 
vember to Hanover, a distance of seventy-five miles from Cleveland. In 
the exuberance of their joy the stockholders at their meeting resolved 
1 that the directors be requested to give a free ticket to each stockholder 
and his lady to ride over the road from Cleveland to Hanover, and return 
at any time within thirty days, and that landholders, through whose land 
the road passes, shall be entitled to a free ticket for themselves and wives 



328 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

1852, the connection through to Pittsburg was arranged 
for. On April 18th, 1853, the Legislature of Pennsylvania 
passed a law incorporating the Cleveland & Pittsburg Rail- 
road Company, and giving full assent to all the provisions 
of the Ohio charter. In October, 1871, the Cleveland & 
Pittsburg Railroad Company passed into the control of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, where it has since 
remained. 

Another venture of the same busy period of railroad 
building was the Cleveland & Mahoning Valley Railroad 
Company, which, eventually, had much to do with the 
manufacturing and commercial development of this city. 
This line was projected for the primal purpose of opening 
and developing the coal and mineral regions of the Mahon- 
ing valley, and also to furnish a connection between Cleve- 
land and Pittsburg. It was chartered on February 22nd, 
1848, incorporated in 185 1, and the first meeting of stock- 
holders held at Warren, in June, 1852. Local subscrip- 
tions to the amount of $300,000 were reported, and esti- 
mates and surveys ordered prepared. The prime mover 
and most earnest friend of the scheme, was Jacob Perkins, 
of Warren, who risked his fortune, gave his strength, and 
finally sacrificed his life in its behalf. 92 

The directors, in the day of beginning, were Jacob Per- 
kins, Frederick Kinsman, Charles Smith, David Tod, 
Dudley Baldwin, Robert Cunningham and James Magee 
— the first three residents of Warren, and the rest of 
Youngstown, Cleveland, New Castle and Philadelphia, in 
the order named. It was a long and uphill struggle 
before the day of success was reached. Cleveland was 

from twenty days of the opening of the road, and that the same privilege 
be extended over the other portions of the road when completed. ' ' — From 
the statement made by R. F. Smith, general manager of the Cleveland 
& Pittsburg Railroad. 

92 " He died in Havana, Cuba, on January 12th, 1859, and the half- 
grave, half -playful, but altogether pathetic remark made to a friend previ- 
ous to his death, ' If I die you may inscribe on my tombstone, ' Died of 
the Mahoning Valley Railroad, ' ' was more of a sombre fact than a light 
jest or passing fancy." — "Magazine of Western History," Vol. II., 
p. 61S. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, s*9 



selected as the headquarters, and a purchase of land made 
that gave the road a foothold here. There was much sur- 
veying of proposed routes, and hesitation among those 
proposed, but finally the present one, through Mantua, 
Warren, and Youngstown, was chosen. Attempts were 
made to induce the Pennsylvania Legislature to allow an 
extension of the line into that State, but the influence of 
rival lines prevented. 

There was a fair promise of success up to 1854, when 
the annual report of the directors took on a tone of de- 
spondency that boded ill for the future. The condition of 
the money market had altered for the worse, and capital 
became very cautious; at this time, Jacob Perkins and 
his associates stepped in, and by pledge of their personal 
fortunes, secured the continuation of the work. In 1857, 
the road was completed as far as Youngstown, and a point 
thus reached where returns began to come in from the 
growing coal and iron regions. In October, 1863, it was 
leased to the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Company, 
and later, with that organization, passed into the control 
of the Erie system. 

A detailed history of all the charters, acts, amendments, 
incorporations, and, above all, financial struggles, that went 
to build the half-score of minor roads finally merged into 
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company, 
would make a volume in itself, so only a bare outline is 
possible here. Trunk lines, with a through business to 
depend upon and a local traffic as incidental, did not enter 
into the calculations of the railroad projectors in the early 
days. Two or more cities having come to the conclusion 
that there was business and travel enough within their in- 
fluence, and along the section of country to be traversed, to 
warrant a railroad, it was set on foot and the matter of ex- 
tensions in any direction was left, generally, to be decided 
as an afterthought. After a time, a number of these dis- 
jointed sections would be joined by the absent links, and the 
great trunk line brought into being. The road under 
consideration is a marked example of this character. 



330 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



The links in this great chain may be briefly noted. The 
Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad was chartered in April, 1833, 
by the Territory of Michigan, with authority to construct 
a road from Toledo, Ohio, to a point on the Kalamazoo 
River ; it built from Toledo to Adrian ; and leased in per- 
petuity to the Michigan Southern Railroad, chartered in 
1 846. In 1835, the Buffalo & Mississippi Railroad was char- 
tered by the State of Indiana, to construct a road from the 
eastern to the western boundary line of that State. In 1837, 
its title was changed to the Northern Indiana Railroad 
Company. Eventually, under various acts, a line was con- 
structed from the eastern to the western line of the State and 
from Elkhart to the northern State line, where connection 
was made with the above-named Michigan Southern road. 
Meanwhile, the links of the^future great line were being 
welded at points further east. In March, 185 1, Ohio per- 
mitted the incorporation of 
the Northern Indiana Railroad 
Company of Ohio, with author- 
ity to run a line from Toledo 
to the State line of Indiana; 
also one from Toledo north- 
ward to Monroe. Under this 
charter, a road was built be- 
tween the points named, con- 
necting with the Northern In- 
diana Railroad of Indiana, and 
running from Toledo to the 
northern line of the State, 
forming a portion of the De- 
troit, Monroe & Toledo line. As was foreshadowed, 
in the similarity of names, the Northern Indiana Com- 
panies of Ohio and Indiana, on July 8th, 1853, con- 
solidated into one organization, under the name of the 
Northern Indiana Railroad Company. In November, 
1850, the Northern Indiana & Chicago Railroad Company 
filed articles of association, with the Secretary of State of 
Illinois, for the construction of jl 'road southeasterly to the 




MAYOR EDWARD S. FLINT. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

State Line, to intersect the road of the western division of 
the Buffalo & Mississippi Company. The road was im- 
mediately built between these points, a distance of thir- 
teen miles. 

Manifest destiny and the present demands of the situa- 
tion worked tog-ether for consolidation. On February 7th, 
1855, a compact was entered into by which the Northern 
Railroad Company of Ohio and Indiana, the Buffalo & 
Mississippi Railroad (Western division) of Indiana, and the 
Northern Indiana & Chicago Railroad Company of Illinois, 
were merged into one, which was called the Northern 
Indiana Railroad Company, and which gave a through line 
from Toledo to Chicago. Two months later a still more 
important step was taken, by which the above line was 
again consolidated, this time with the Michigan Southern 
Railroad Company, under the growing name of the 
Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad Company. 
In the year following, this new corporation obtained a 
lease of the Detroit, Monroe & Toledo Railroad, then un- 
finished, and this finally connected the points named in its 
title. 

Attention must now be turned to the movements going 
on still farther east. On April 12th, 1842, the Erie & 
Northeast Railroad Company of Pennsylvania was incor- 
porated, to build a road from Erie to some point on the 
east boundary line of the township of Northeast, in Erie 
County. Twenty miles of road was the practical result. 
In October of 1849. the Buffalo & State Line Railroad 
Company was organized in western NeAv York, for the 
building of a road from Buffalo to the western State line, 
there to connect with a like road leading through to Cleve- 
land, Ohio. On March 9th, 1867, an act was passed by 
the New York Legislature permitting this company to join 
forces with the Erie & Northeast Company, and the result 
was the Buffalo & Erie Railroad Company. Meanwhile, 
on March 2nd, 1846, the Ohio Legislature passed an act 
incorporating the Junction Railroad Company, with au- 
thority to construct a road from some point to be selected 



33* THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

on the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati line, within 
thirty miles of Cleveland, thence, by way of Elyria, to 
intersect the Mad River & Lake Erie road at Belle vue, 
or some other point, and thence on to Fremont; also, 
for a branch thereof from Elyria, via Sandusky, to Fre- 
mont. It was this line, as mentioned above, that finally 
made use of the right of way belonging to the old Ohio 
road, or the " road on stilts," as it was often described. 
In March, 1850, the Toledo, Norwalk & Cleveland Rail- 
road Company was incorporated, for the building of a line 
from Toledo, by way of Norwalk, to connect with the 
Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad at, or near, 
Wellington, and subsequent power was given it to continue 
the line on to Cleveland, either by an agreement with the 
last-named road, or independent of it. In October, 1852, 
the Port Clinton Railroad Company sprang into existence, 
with a mission to build a line from Sandusky, via Port 
Clinton, to Toledo. Finally, on July 15th, 1853, there was 
a grand consolidation of these small and irregular inter- 
ests, and the result was that the Junction Railroad Com- 
pany, the Port Clinton Railroad Company, and the Toledo, 
Norwalk & Cleveland Railroad Company, all disappeared 
from sight, to emerge as one in the Cleveland & Toledo 
Railroad Company. At that time not any of them had 
completed their lines, but the work was done subsequently 
by the consolidated company. 

In 1848, a line was projected that now forms an 
important part of the Lake Shore & Michigan South- 
ern system, which seems to have been a more distinctively 
Cleveland enterprise than any of the small lines de : 
scribed in the foregoing. It was the incorporation, in 
February of that year, of the Cleveland, Painesville 
& Ashtabula Railroad Company, with authority to 
construct a line from Cleveland, via Painesville and 
Ashtabula, to the Pennsylvania State line, and there 
to connect with any railroad running eastward. The 
company was organized with a directory consisting of Al- 
fred Kelley, Samuel L. Sheldon, Heman B. Ely, George 



/ 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



]-:. Gillett, David R. Paige, L. Lake and Peleg P. Sanford. 

Heman B. Ely was elected president, Abel Kimball, treas- 
urer, and Frederick Harbaeh, engineer. A survey was 
made under the direction of the last named. The diffi- 
culties in the way were many, but the company finally 
secured the needed money, and made a contract with 
Frederick Harbaeh, Amasa Stone and vStillman Witt, on 
the 26th of July, 1850, for the construction of the road 
from Cleveland to the Pennsylvania State line. For the 
first six months, the work progressed slowly, the chief 
fear of the time being that steam-cars could never com- 
pete for business with the great boats then running from 
Cleveland to Buffalo. But the backers kept at it with per- 
sistent energy, and finally, late in 1852, a locomotive was 
enabled to travel its entire length. On May 5th, 1854, the 
Pennsylvania Legislature gave the company permission 
to construct an extension of its line along the Franklin 
Canal Railroad, an enterprise that had passed into the con- 
trol of the State of Pennsylvania, to Erie. The purchase 
of the Franklin property was made, and thus a road was 
completed between Cleveland and Erie, with connections 
through to the east. Steps leading up to the grand final 
consolidation began to be taken. On October 8th, 1867, 
a lease of the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad Company was 
made to the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Company. 
On June 17th, 1868, the name of the latter organization 
was changed to the Lake Shore Railway Company, and in 
February, 1869, the Cleveland & Toledo Company for- 
mally became, by consolidation, a part of the Lake Shore 
Railway Company. Thus a continuous line, owned and 
operated by one company, extended from Erie to Toledo. 
That extension was made still greater, when on May 8th, 
1869, this great organization was consolidated with the 
Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad Com- 
pany, heretofore fully described, and the Lake Shore & 
Michigan Southern Railroad came into being. The consol- 
idation from Buffalo to Chicago was completed on August 
10th, 1869, when the Buffalo & Erie Company came into 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the scheme, and this great railroad and commercial force 
of to-day became an accomplished fact. Of its extensions 
and dependent lines that were afterwards purchased, 
leased, or built, from various points on the main line to 
Oil City. Youngstown, Jackson, and other places in Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, no men- 
tion in this connection can be made. 

A brief glance at the origin of some of the later rail- 
roads of Cleveland may be taken here, although some of 
them came into existence at a date considerably after the 
period now under consideration. On March ioth, 1845. 
the Franklin & Warren Railroad Company was chartered 
to build a road from Franklin, Portage County, Ohio, via 
Warren, Trumbull County, to the eastern State line, and 
having power to continue the same westerly or southwest- 
erly. As a result, a line was built from the State line in 
Trumbull County to Dayton. By decree of court on 
October 17th, 1854, the name of this company was 
changed to the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Com- 
pany. This was later incorporated with other roads un- 
der the same name; and after many years of financial 
trouble it became known in 1880 as the Xew York, 
Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad Company, and later, in 
company with its Mahoning line into Cleveland, already 
described, became a part of the Erie system, and as 
such connects Cleveland with both the east and the 
west. 

In the charter of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh road, an 
amendment was made on February 19th, 185 1, to permit 
the organization of a separate and distinct company to 
construct a branch line from Hudson, via Cuvaho^a Falls 
and Akron, to Wooster, or some other point between Woos- 
ter and Massillon, and to connect with such other roads as 
might be desired. The company was organized in the 
following March, and the road constructed from Hudson 
to Millersburg. In 1853, the name Akron Branch was 
changed to the Cleveland, Zanesville & Cincinnati Rail- 
road Company. It passed under the control of the Penn- 



THE history OF CLEVELAND. 



sylvania system in 1869, and thus secured connection 
with Cleveland. 

The Lake Shore & Tuscarawas Valley Railway Com- 
pany was incorporated on July 2nd, 1870, its declared 
purpose being to build a road from a point near Berea to 
Mill township, Tuscarawas County, on the line of the 
Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis road, with a branch 
from Elyria to a convenient point on the main line in 
Medina County. The road was built from Elyria, via 
Grafton, to Uhrichsville, and completed in August, 1873. 
In October, 1872, the company purchased from the Elyria 
& Black River Railway Company eight miles of the line 
of the latter, extending northward from Elyria to Black 
River harbor, now known as Lorain. In 1875, the Cleve- 
land, Tuscarawas Valley & Wheeling Company was in- 
corporated, and all of the above property passed into 
its possession, under sale by the courts. An exten- 
sion through to Wheeling, West Va., was completed 
in 1 880; and soon after that the whole line became 
known as the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad 
Company. 

The Valley Railway Company was chartered August 
31st, 1 87 1, with a capital stock of three million dollars. 
It was formed for the declared purpose of building a line 
from Cleveland to Wheeling, through Akron and Canton. 
The survey was made in 1872, and work commenced in 
1873. The panic of the latter year fell upon the new en- 
terprise at a critical moment, and in 1874 all proceedings 
were stopped, and so remained until 1878, when opera- 
tions were resumed, and so pushed forward that cars ran 
from Cleveland to Canton in February, 1880. Extensions 
were pushed forward at a later date. Its entrance into 
Cleveland was by way of the old canal bed, which was ceded 
by the State of Ohio to the City of Cleveland on consider- 
ation that a weighlock should be built at the new junction, 
between the canal and Cuyahoga River. The city then 
leased the canal bed to the Valley road for ninety-nine 
years, receiving in payment $265,000 in the road's first 



33 6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



mortgages. 8 " An attempt was made, before construction 
commenced, to make the city a part owner, and a vote 
taken as to whether bonds should be issued for that pur- 
pose. The answer at the polls was a negative. The en- 
terprising business men of Cleveland went to work, how- 
ever, and raised live hundred thousand dollars in subscrip- 
tions, and thus made the road a possibility. 

Yet another line from Cleveland, down into the coal and 
iron regions of the south and southeast, demands con- 
sideration. The Carroll County Railroad Company was 
chartered as early as March 9th, 1850, and a strap-rail 
road, operated by horse power, was constructed from Car- 
rollton to Oneida, a distance of twelve miles. It was 
opened for business in 1854, but the company became in- 
solvent, and the road went at forced sale in 1859. The 
new purchasers operated it for several years, but it deteri- 
orated in their hands, and in February, 1876, there was 
organized the Carrollton & Oneida Railroad Company, 
which took possession of the old line. After varying for- 
tunes, it became known as the Connotton Valley Railway 
Company, and was completed, into Canton, in 1880. In 
the same year the Connotton Northern Railway Company 
was incorporated to build a line from Canton to Fairport 
on the lake shore. This line was built to a point in Por- 
tage County, when it was decided to change its northern 
terminus to Cleveland, and it was run through to Com- 
mercial street, in this city, in January, 1882. The Con- 
notton Northern was consolidated with the Connotton 

93 The act to transfer this property from the control of the State to that 
of the City of Cleveland was passed by the Legislature April 29th, 1872. 
The weighlock was removed May 21st, 1874. The matter then rested 
until October 31st, 1S79, when a quitclaim deed was given to the city by 
Governor Bishop. This deed was formally accepted November 3rd, 1879, 
and the city leased the property on November 4th, 1879, to the Valley 
Railroad Company for a term of ninety-nine years, receiving in payment 
of the same $265,000 in first mortgage bonds of the road. November 10th, 
1879, this lease was formally approved by the City Council. In a financial 
way, aside from the gain in business from the increased efficiency of the 
road, Cleveland was a loser by this transaction, as it expended $288,405.37 
in making this improvement. This amount, however, included $125,000, 
which was paid for the surrender of leases to a portion of the property. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 






and the 
was com- 

the same 
road was 
traffic on 



Valley, under the name of the ConnottoE Valley Railway 

Company. The line was pushed down to the present depot 
on Huron and Ontario streets. It was sold by the court, 
on May 9th, 1SS3, to the stockholders and bondholders, 
who reorganized it in the following month, under the 
name oi the Cleveland & Canton Railroad Company. 

The charter for the construction of the New York, Chi- 
cago & St. Louis road, from Buffalo to Chicago, via Cleve- 
land and Fort AVayne, 
was issued under the 
general railroad law of 
New York, on April 
13th, 1881, 
construction 
menced in 
year. The 
opened for 
October 23rd, 1882. It 
was sold soon after- 
wards to William H. 
Vanderbilt, and is still 
a part of the great Van- 
derbilt system of west- 
ern roads. 

Returning from this 
somewhat long quest 
after railroad begin- 
nings and experiences, 
we resume the thread 
of general narration 
for the closing years 
of the first half of the 

century. A new township, that of East Cleveland, was 
organized in 1847, which embraced "all of the one-hun- 
dred-acre lots of the original surveyed township No. 
7, north of the Newburg line;" and on March 22nd, 1850, 
an act was passed by the general assembly of Ohio, an- 
nexing the remaining part of said township to the City of 




ST. JOHN S CATHEDRAL. 



J3 8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Cleveland, which embraced "all of the ten-acre lots, and 
all the nn surveyed strip lying- along the bank of the river 
north and south of the mouth of Kingsbury Run." 

In 1848, the first Superior Court of Cleveland was cre- 
ated, with Sherlock J. Andrews as judge, and George A. 
Benedict, clerk. It continued for the period of five years, 
but was dispensed with on the revision of the judiciary 
system, under the new State Constitution. In the fall of 
the same year the corner-stone of St. John's Cathedral, on 
Erie and Superior streets, was laid. 

The growth of the two cities was at this time of a grati- 
fying character, Ohio City having pushed out as far as 
Clinton street, while Cleveland was pushing toward the 
east and south. Euclid road had long since taken on the 
name of Euclid street, and was already beginning to show 
those evidences of beautiful home-making that have made 
Euclid avenue one of the famous streets of the world. 
A writer has well said of this great thoroughfare and its 
natural advantages : ' ' The land rose from the lake to 
within a short distance from the street, then fell as far as 
.a line of the street, and then rose gently to the southward. 
Somewhat singularly, both the ridge and the depression 
occupied by the street ran almost due east from the Public 
Square for two miles, and then, with a small variation, ran 
two miles farther to Doan's Corners. The wealthy resi- 
dents of the city early found that they could make ex- 
tremely pleasant homes by taking ample ground on the 
ridge in question, and building their houses on its summit; 
leaving a space of from ten to twenty rods between them 
and the street. The fashion, once adopted by a few, 
was speedily followed by others, and a residence on Euclid 
street, with a front yard of from two to five acres, soon 
became one of the prominent objects of a Clevelander's 
ambition." 94 

It was in 1 848 that the Cleveland Board of Trade took 
its place among the commercial organizations of the west. 
'The need of such center for the business of Cleveland 

94 " History of Cuyahoga County," compiled by Crisfield Johnson, p. 243. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



had been felt and diseussed for some little time. The 
records of the Hoard, previous to [864, have been lost, or 
destroyed, and the chief sources of information concerning 
it are found in the newspapers of the day. In the 
"Herald" of July 8th, 1848, we find the following: 
"At a large meeting of the merchants of the city, held, 
pursuant to a notice, at the Weddell House on Friday 
evening the 7th, William Milford, Esq., was called to the 
chair, and S. S. Coe appointed secretary. After a state- 
ment from the chair of the object of the meeting, on mo- 
tion by Joseph L. Weatherley: Resolved, That the mer- 
chants of this city now organize themselves into an asso- 
ciation to be called The Board of Trade of the City of 
Cleveland." Some of the best known of the early mem- 
bers were Joseph Weath- 
erley, R. T. Lyon, Richard 
Hilliard, L. M. Hubby, 
Philo Chamberlain, Charles 
Hickox, Thomas Walton, 
S. S. Stone, R. K.Winslow, 
W. F. Otis and Sheldon 
Pease. The first officers 
were: Joseph L. Weath- 
erley, president; W. F. 
Allen, Jr., vice-president; 
Charles W. Coe, secretary; 
R. T. Lyon, treasurer. At 
a later date, we shall see 
how much has grown from this humble beginning. 
The second of Cleveland's medical institutions was 
formed in 1849, being the Homoeopathic Hospital College, 
the first session of which was held in 1849-50. The 
faculty was composed as follows : Charles D. Williams, 
dean; Storm Rosa, A. H. Bissell, Lewis Dodge, H. L. 
Smith, E. C. Witherell, John Brainard, and L. K. Rosa. 
The first board of trustees was composed of John 
Wheeler, Joel Tiffany, Dudley Baldwin. A. H. Brainard, 
Edward Wade, Thomas Brown, R. F. Paine, Amos 




JOSEPH L. WEATHERLEY 



34 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Hutchinson, George King, Benjamin Bissell, Samuel Ray- 
mond, Richard Milliard, L. M. Hubby, Thomas Miller, 
and A. O. Blair. 

The college building, in which this useful institution 
was first located, was at the corner of Prospect and Ontario 
streets. It was at this point, in 1852, that considerable 
damage was done to the building and its contents by a 
mob of several thousand people, who were incited thereto 
by stories of stolen bodies being traced to the college dis- 
secting room. The college had an honorable and useful 
career, not only in connection with its educational work, 
but through the hospital under its control. The second 
home of the college was in a church building, formerly 
owned by the Congregationalists, on Prospect street, a 
little below Erie street. It remained here for several 
years, working in connection with the Homoeopathic Hos- 
pital, on Huron street. In 1890, the college became 
divided into two schools, one taking the name of the 
Cleveland University of Medicine and Surgery, with 
headquarters on Huron street, and the other, the Cleve- 
land Medical College, located on Bolivar street. 

The Cuyahoga County Agricultural Society also was 
formed in 1849, an( ^ f° r a number of years its fairs were 
held on Kinsman street (now Woodland avenue), and later 
at Newburg and Chagrin Falls. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

TWO CITIES BECOME ONE. 

In a previous chapter, the passage of the banking law 
of 1845 has been noted in full, with the promise that 
further information as to the banks of Cleveland formed 
thereunder would be given at the proper chronological 
point. Now that this general narration has been carried 
to the half -century mark, it seems proper to speak more 
fully of the beginnings of the great financial centers of 
Cleveland. 

The City Bank of Cleveland had its origin in an organ- 
ization called the Fireman's Insurance Company, to 
which had been given the power to do a general banking 
business, but not to issue notes. The City Bank was in- 
corporated May 17th, 1845, with a charter to run twenty 
years. Reuben Sheldon was elected president, and T. C. 
Severance, cashier. On the 12th of February, 1865, it 
closed its business, and opened on the day following as 
the National City Bank of Cleveland. On January 20th, 
1885, its charter was renewed for twenty years. 

The Merchants' Branch Bank of the State Bank of Ohio 
was organized June 25th, 1845, a l so with a twenty years' 
charter. P. M. Weddell was chosen president, and Pren- 
tis Dow, cashier. Its successor was the Merchants' 
National Bank, which was formed on December 27th, 

1864, but did not commence business until February 7th, 

1865, when the original bank ceased operations. T. P. 
Handy and W. L. Cutter were re-elected to the respective 
positions of president and cashier. In that year the bank 
was made the United States depository for the receipt of 
public money. The charter of the Merchants' National 
Bank expired on December 27th, 1884. Its successor, the 
Mercantile National Bank, was organized December 10th, 



34* THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

[884, and commenced business on the 29th of the same 
month. This bank soon completed and occupied an 
elegant new building on "the old corner," where Mr. 
Handy and the Commercial Bank of Lake Erie joined 
fortunes in 1 832 ; the old building, which was torn down 
to give place to the new, having been erected in 185 1. 

The Commercial Branch of the State Bank of Ohio was 
organized in September, 1845, with the usual twenty years' 
charter. William A. Otis was made president, and T. P. 
Handy, cashier. It opened its doors for business on 
November 25th, of the same year, in a block on Superior 
street, near Water street. The Commercial Branch Bank 
was wound up March 1st, 1865, on the expiration of its 
charter, and the Commercial National Bank, which had 
been organized December 1st, 1864, in preparation for this 
event, assumed the business on the same day. Its charter 
was renewed in 1884, and the bank was continued with no 
change of management or of stockholders. In 1869, the 
Commercial National Bank moved into its own quarters 
in the National Bank building, which had been jointly 
erected by it and the Second National Bank, on the corner 
of Superior and Water streets. 

The charter of the Cleveland Society for Savings was 
issued on April 4th, 1849, an( ^ on August 2nd of the same 
year the new institution was opened for business. John 
W. Allen was chosen president, S. H. Mather, secretary, 
and J. F. Taintor, treasurer. In a short time, Mr. Taintor 
withdrew, and the two offices were combined in Mr. 
Mather, who spent the remainder of his life in devoted 
attention to the interests of the society, being its president 
at the time of his death. While there is much that might 
be said in high praise of all the banking institutions now 
under consideration, and while the majority of Cleveland 
banks have been managed with fidelity, honesty, and 
satisfactory results to their stockholders, it is permissible 
to make special reference to this one, which has made a re- 
markable record — especially as it was founded on what 
was, in those days, an experiment in western finance. The 



THE HISTORY OF C 1 .1'AI.I.AND. 



343 



Society for Savings differs from most banks and savings 
and loan associations, in that it has no capital, and that 
the profits go to the depositors. 

Its origin is a matter of more than passing interest. 
Early in 1849, Charles J. Woolson, the father of Miss 
Woolson, who has won snch deserved fame in literature, 
was talking with S. H. Mather, then a member of the 






"•**«* --..§ 



i* >' 



i ^ 



* " 




SOCIETY FOR SAVINGS BUILDING. 



Cleveland bar, and in the course of the conversation, Mr. 
Woolson suggested to Mr. Mather that an institution 
modeled after some then in existence in the East, would be 
a benefit to Cleveland, and especially to its poor. The 
idea abided with Mr. Mather, and after he had given it 
proper consideration, he consulted with other gentlemen, 
and the result was, that a charter was procured and the 



344 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

bank opened for business. Its beginning was humble. 
Part of a room, but twenty feet square, in the rear of the 
Merchants' Bank, was secured, the rest of it being used 
as desk room by others. The first deposit was made by 
Mrs. D. E. Bond, in the sum of ten dollars. The busi- 
ness gradually increased, and after the objection the public 
holds to all experiments, had worn off, the success of the 
Society was a settled fact. In the fall of 1857, it became 
necessary to remove to a more commodious building, and 
that afterwards occupied by Everett, Weddell & Co., on 
the corner of Bank and Frankfort streets, was secured. 
In 1867, their first block on the Public Square, which the 
Society had built, was completed and moved into, and at 
a later date the magnificent new building projected by 
the Society on the Public Square, at its junction with On- 
tario street, was completed and occupied. In a financial 
sense, the Society was long since counted one of the 
strongest and most successful of the banking institutions 
of the West. 

The charter of the Bank of Commerce was issued in 
1844 or 1845, but no bank was then established. In 1853, 
it was purchased by H. B. Hurlbut, and the bank set in 
motion. Parker Handy was chosen president, and Mr. 
Hurlbut, cashier. In a short time, Mr. Handy resigned, 
and Joseph Perkins was elected in his place. In May, 
1863, it was changed to a national bank, and took the title 
of the Second National Bank, the law then requiring the 
use of numerals instead of names. Mr. Perkins and Mr. 
Hurlbut continued in their respective offices of president 
and cashier. On the renewal of its charter in 1882, the 
old name was re-adopted, and it was thenceforth known 
as the National Bank of Commerce. 

In 185 1 , was formed the private banking house of Wick, 
Otis & Brownell. The partners were H. B. and H. Wick, 
W. A. and W. F. Otis, and A. C. Brownell. In 1854, the 
Wicks purchased the interests of their partners and the 
name of the house was changed to H. B. & H. Wick. In 
1857, Henry Wick bought out his brother, and having 



THE HIS T( )RY OF CLE VELA ND. s4 j 

taken his son into partnership, the bank became known 
as Henry Wick & Co. E. B. Hale opened a private bank 
in [852; in 1866, he formed a partnership by the admis- 
sion of W. H. Barris to the firm, and the name was 
changed to E. B. Hale & Co. The private banking house 
of Brockway, Wason, Everett & Co., commenced busi- 
ness in March, 1854. The partners were A. W. Brock- 
way, Charles Wason and Dr. A. Everett. It soon 
changed to Wason, Everett & Co., on the retirement of 
the senior partner ; and when Charles Wason disposed of 
his interest and H. P. Weddell was admitted, the firm 
name became Everett, Weddell & Co. Through financial 
reverses, it closed up business in July, 1884. 

The First National Bank was organized May 23rd, 1863, 
being one of the first half-dozen that came into life under 
the national bank laAv. The new concern was not alto- 
gether without a foundation of business in the start, as 
that of the private banking house of S. W. Chittenden & 
Co. was transferred to it. George Worthington was the 
first president, and S. W. Chittenden, cashier. The charter 
expired in June, 1882, and the bank continued under a re- 
organization which had occurred on May 13th, 1882. 

The Citizens' Savings & Loan Association was opened 
for business August 1st, 1868, Avith J. H. Wade as presi- 
dent, and C. W. Lepper, treasurer. It was incorporated 
on the 1 6th of May of the same year, under an act of the 
Legislature "to enable associations of persons to raise funds 
to be used among their members for building homesteads, 
and for other purposes, to become a body corporate." 
The Ohio National Bank was organized January 1, 1876. 
Robert Hanna Avas the first president. The People's 
Savings & Loan Association, a West Side institution, Avas 
organized on March 2, 1869. Daniel P. Rhodes AA^as made 
president, and A. L. Withington, secretary and treasurer. 
The South CleA'eland Banking Company Avas organized in 
June, 1879; the Savings & Trust Company, May 8, 1883; 
the CleA^eland National Bank, May 21, 1883; the L^nion 
National Bank, June 7, 1884. 



34 6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

With the Greater Cleveland of this century-ending- dec- 
ade, has come an increased demand for larger and more 
extended banking facilities. Capital, and faith in the 
city's future, have made generous and ample answer. An 
enumeration of the banking institutions in existence, at 
the close of 1895, may be made as follows: Broadway 
Savings & Loan Company, Brooklyn Savings & Loan 
Association, Central National Bank, Citizens' Savings & 
Loan Association, Cleveland National Bank, Cleveland 
Trust Company, Columbia Savings & Loan Company, 
Commercial National Bank, Cuyahoga Savings & Banking 
Company, Detroit Street Savings & Loan Company, 
Dietz, Denison & Prior, Dime Savings & Banking Com- 
pany, East End Savings Bank Company, Euclid Avenue 
National Bank, Euclid Avenue Savings and Banking Com- 
pany, First National Bank, Forest City Savings Bank 
Company, Garfield Savings Bank Company, German Amer- 
ican Savings Bank Company, Guardian Trust Company, 
W. J. Hayes & Sons, Indemnity Building & Loan Com- 
pany, Lake Shore Banking & Savings Company, Lorain 
Street Savings Bank Company, Marine Bank Company, 
Mercantile National Bank, Merchants' Banking & Storage 
Company, National Bank of Commerce, National City 
Bank, Ohio National Building & Loan Company, Park 
National Bank, Pearl Street Savings & Loan Company, 
People's Savings & Loan Association, Permanent Savings 
& Loan Company, C. H. Potter & Company, Produce Ex- 
change Banking Company, Savings, Building & Loan Com- 
pany, Savings & Trust Company, Society for Savings, 
South Cleveland Banking Company, State National Bank, 
L T nion Building & Loan Company, Union National Bank, 
United Banking & Savings Company, Wade Park Bank- 
ing Company, West Cleveland Banking Company, West- 
ern Reserve National Bank, Wick Banking & Trust Com- 
pany, Woodland Avenue Savings & Loan Company. 95 

95 The subjoined figures, taken from the "Cleveland Plain Dealer," of 
November 12, 1895, form a fitting comment upon the above list: "By 
the statement made of the condition of the twelve National Banks, Septem- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



347 



It took Cleveland a long time to work up from its first 
hank to a Clearing House Association. The latter was 
formed on the 28th of December, 1858, its purpose being 
" to effect at one place, and in the most economical and 
safe manner, the daily exchange between the several as- 
sociated banks and bankers ; the maintenance of uniform 
rates for Eastern exchange, and the regulation of what 
descriptions of funds shall be paid and received in the 
settlement of business." The following banks and bank- 
ers subscribed to the articles of association : Commercial 




" THE FLATS " IX 1S57. 

Branch Bank, Merchants' Branch Bank, Bank of Com- 
merce, City Bank, Forest City Bank, Wason, Everett & 
Co., H. B' & H. Wick & Co.,' Whitman, Standart & Co., 
and Fayette Brown. T. P. Handy was elected president 

ber 28th, 1S95, the combined capital stock paid in amounted to 89,458,250; 
the surplus to 82,699,769; the deposits §24,391,423, and the loans $27,710,- 
654; and on October 7th, the twenty-six State Banks and Savings Socie- 
ties showed a combined paid-up capital of 85,078,960, with surplus and 
undivided profits 84,054,877; deposits 848,691,080, and loans $34,852,768. 
Taking the combined deposits of all the banking institutions, as above, the 
amount reaches the enormous figure of 873,082,503, which is more than 
one-third the deposits of all the banks in the State of Ohio. ' ' 



34 S THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

and W. L. Cutter, secretary. T. P. Handy, Lemuel Wick 
and Fayette Brown constituted the executive committee. 

The banks of Cleveland have had rather less than their 
share of failures, burglaries and defalcations, although a 
few relics of that character have been discovered, in this 
search into the records of the past. The first discovery 
partakes more of the character of the legendary than of 
the hard solidity of historic fact. It pictures the senior 
Leonard Case, in the days when the Commercial Bank of 
Lake Erie was housed in a portion of his dwelling, sitting 
on his hearthstone, with a hatchet, ready to brain an indus- 
trious burglar who was working his way in with a spade ; 
but, as no use was made of the hatchet, it is to be sup- 
posed that this primitive burglar was warned away, or 
found the task greater than the possible stake. Or, per- 
haps, the bank broke up before he completed the tunnel, 
and he desisted, lest possession of the bank should make 
him responsible for its liabilities. 

Of a more definite character is the attack made by de- 
termined men on the old Canal Bank, which exploded into 
thin air, in the early part of November, 1854. Those were 
exciting times to men who held the paper money then 
afloat, and who made haste to get rid of it, in fear that it 
might turn to worthless paper in their hands. So com- 
mon was the explosion of weak concerns that the "Plain 
Dealer," in those days of Gray, dug from its cellar a relic 
of the "Hard Cider Campaign," a cut of a log-cabin being 
blown up, and published it from day to day over the an- 
nouncement of each crash. The evaporation of the Canal 
Bank was not unexpected, and we read in the "Herald " 
of November 9, 1854, the calm announcement that "the 
failure of this bank excited no surprise in this city." 
"During the day," adds this unmoved chronicler, "a crowd 
was about the door, where a force of police were stationed 
to prevent any disturbance. ' ' The ' ' Plain Dealer ' ' of the 
same date seems to have found some indorsement of its 
financial doctrines, in this and like failures, as it treats 
the Canal wreck in a cheerful strain. It savs: "About 



THE HISTORY 01 CLEVELAND. 



U9 



the Canal Bank, yesterday, there was not only a large, but 
a greatly interested crowd. The bill-holders, who gfot the 
gold for their notes, were arrayed in smiles, and con- 
trasted, most ludicrously, with the grim-visaged deposi- 
tors, who orot nothing." 

Isaac L. Hewitt, H. W. Huntington, and W. J. Gor- 
don were appointed assignees, but objection being raised 
to Mr. Huntington, he gave place to the late E. F. Gay- 
lord. There seems to have been no headlong rush for 
the position of assignee, as it was offered in succession to 
Franklin T. Backus, Philo Chamberlain, H. N. Gates, and 
George Mygatt, and as often declined. There was great 
excitement for a few days, and the old men of Cleveland 
tell the tale in a Homeric strain, wherein lies an intima- 
tion that, though these modern days have their share of 
stirring events, they are not such as saw the fall of Troy, 
or Dr. Ackley 's raid on the outer and inner walls of the 
Canal Bank vault. But even Dr. Ackley had his prede- 
cessor. On the day preceding the failure, a fresh-water 
captain named Gummage had deposited one thousand dol- 
lars, the result of the season's labor and danger on the 
great lakes. When told that his cash was swallowed up, 
he became desperate, and proceeded to a desperate reme- 
dy. Arming himself, he entered the bank and demanded 
his money. When it was refused, he said: "It is all the 
money I OAvn in the world, and I will have it or I will kill 
you ! ' ' He meant what he said and looked his meaning, 
and his cash was handed over without parley. No one 
ever proceeded against him, in law or otherwise. 

Dr. H. C. Ackley, who was as determined as he Avas 
eccentric, had a personal deposit in the Canal Bank, but 
laid no claim to it in preference over the other Auctims. 
He was, hoAveA^er, one of the trustees of the State Insane 
Asylum at NeAvburg, and had placed in the bank nine 
thousand dollars of the public funds. On the announce- 
ment of the suspension, he demanded this sum, Avhich he 
did not get. He hurried to the sheriff's office and SAvore 
out a Avrit of attachment. Sheriff M. M. Spangler pro- 






THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 




ceeded to the bank, which was located on Superior street, 
near the American House, in the building now occupied 
by the ' ' Leader, ' ' and took possession. ' ' The keys of the 
vault being refused him," says the "Herald," " he pro- 
ceeded to break open the vault. The excitement, both 
inside and outside the bank, was intense while the work 

proceeded; but, to the credit 
of our citizens, no signs of 
riot were displayed. Dr. 
Ackley has a heavy deposit 
of his own, but has procured 
an attachment only on behalf 
of the State, claiming that 
unless its money is procured, 
the asylum at Xewburg can 
not be opened for more than 
a year, and that during that 
time one hundred insane 
patients will be deprived of 
treatment." 

Sheriff Spangler construed his duty to be the getting of 
the money, and when he found that brick walls and iron 
doors opposed the entrance of the law, he summoned sev- 
eral stalwart deputies, and, under the guardianship of Dr. 
Ackley, who is said by ancient rumor to have threatened 
to shoot the first man who interfered, laid down such 
lusty blows as had not been heard since Richard of the 
Lion Heart drove his battle-axe against the castle gates 
of Front-de-Bceuf. Sledge-hammers swung in the air, 
and came down on the brickwork with a crash ; clouds of 
lime and mortar filled the room. The population of 
Cleveland could almost have been enumerated from those 
who crowded on the scene. The officers and clerks of 
the bank looked on, helpless to prevent, and in no posi- 
tion to aid. F. T. Backus, a part owner of the building, 
and the attorney of the bank, rushed in and ordered a halt, 
on the grounds of trespass. The sheriff replied that he 
had come for the money, and that it was a part of his offi- 



MAVOR H. M. CHAPIX. 



THE HISTORY OF ('/./■:!' KLAND. jji 



cial oath to get it. The blows still fell, and at one o'clock 
the outer wall of the vault was broken, and measures set 
on foot to break into the burglar-proof safe. Truces were 
held, from time to time, lawyers rushed here and there, 
with messages, advice, and papers; but the sheriff knew 
no law but that of his writ, and had but one purpose, 
which was to get at the cash. Finally, late at night, to save 
the safe from damage, the assignees gave up the keys, and 
the hard-earned money was carried away by the sheriff. 
There were $400 in gold and $1,460 in bills. The one 
hundred insane of Northern Ohio had their shelter for the 
year, and, if the stories of the day were well founded, the 
depositors were not the worse off for it, as very small re- 
turns were forthcoming, in settlement of their claims. 

Sheriff Spangler, in a personal interview, some years 
ago, informed me that the excitement was intense, and 
the affair talked about for weeks afterward. He said that 
while he was hammering away, he was threatened with 
prosecution for damages by Mr. Backus, the attorney for 
the bank, and by its cashier and assignees; but the more 
they talked, the more determined was he to gain his point. 

While Cleveland has been quite successful in the ma- 
jority of her banking ventures, she cannot be said to have 
been equally so in connection with the insurance compa- 
nies, which her citizens have established, from time to 
time. The main cause for their disappearance may be 
found in the great Chicago fire of 1871, that bankrupted 
a number and caused the winding up of others. 

As early as 1830, the Cleveland Insurance Company was 
chartered, with power to do both an insurance and a bank- 
ing business. Edmund Clark was made president, and 
S. W. Chittenden, secretary. It was conducted for years 
exclusively as a banking concern, but reorganized as an in- 
surance company in 186 1. It went by the board through 
the great fire above referred to. The Cleveland Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company was incorporated in March, 
1849, was never very successful, and eventually wound up. 
In 185 1, the Commercial Mutual Insurance Company was 



35 2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

organized, was caught in the Chicago fire, reorganized as 
the Mercantile Insurance Company, and continued until 
1890, when it reinsured in an Eastern concern, and went 
out of business. The Washington Insurance Company 
was chartered in 1851, failed, and wound up its career 
with a number of vexatious lawsuits. The City Insurance 
Company of Cleveland came into existence in 1S54, but 
had a brief and by no means profitable existence. The 
German Fire Insurance Company was organized in 1859, 
and sent suddenly out of existence, because of heavy risks 
in Chicago. The Buckeye Insurance Company came in 
1863, and was wound up in 1870. The State Fire & Ma- 
rine Insurance Companv was organized in 1864, reorgan- 
ized as the State Fire Insurance Company, and afterwards 
reinsured its risks and went out of business. The Sun 
Fire Insurance Company opened operations in or near 

1865. made an excellent record, and wound up its affairs 
in good order. Other companies of a later date were as 
follows: The Teutonia Fire Insurance Company, organ- 
ized in 1866, wound up after the Chicago disaster; the 
Midas Insurance Company, organized in 1866, reorgan- 
ized as the Forest City Insurance Company, and wound 
up in 1 87 1 ; the Allemannia Fire Insurance Company, or- 
ganized in 1869, made an assignment and went out of ex- 
istence in 1874; the Hibernia Fire Insurance Company 
incorporated in 1869. and wound up in 187S; the Resi- 
dence Fire Insurance Company chartered in 1874, and 
wound up in 1877. The Board of Fire Underwriters of 
Cleveland was organized in June, 1846. with the follow- 
ing officers: J. L. YVeatherly, president: C. C. Carleton, 
vice-president: H. F. Brayton. treasurer: George May, 
secretary. It continued in active existence until 1863, 
or 1864. when its functions ceased temporarily, or until 

1866. when it was reorganized, and has since been in 
active operation.'" 3 

56 Much of the information in the above is taken from an able and ex- 
tended article in the "Cleveland Voice," of Januarv 11, 1896, entitled 
"Insurance in Cleveland." The history of all these companies is there 
given in detail. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



353 



The census enumeration of 1850 is a fair point at which 
to commence the general story of Cleveland for these later 
years, as it showed the presence of a population of 17,034. 
This indicated a steady and healthful growth for the ten 
preceding years. It was a period of present prosperity, 
and of promise for the future. The lake fleet was at its 
summit of popularity, and of service as a means of pas- 
sage, as the railroads had not yet begun to make the de- 
structive inroads of a later day. The stage coaches were 
kept busy, carrying loads of travelers to and from Cleve- 
land, manufacturers were reaching out and extending, the 
municipality was in a pro- 
gressive mood, and Cleve- 
land had earned the right to 
be called a city in fact, as in 
name. Some additions, in a 
material and moral way, that 
were made during several 
succeeding years, may be 
briefly mentioned. The Lake 
Shore Foundry was estab- 
lished by Mr. Seizer, in 1850, 
and continued under his man- 
agement until 1866. The 
manufacture of organs was 
commenced by Child & Bish- 
op in 1852, and the concern 
became eventually known as the Jewett & Goodman Or- 
gan Company. The Third Presbyterian Church was or- 
ganized, with thirty members, on March 25, 1850, and two 
years later changed its policy to the Congregational, and 
its name, to the ' ' Plymouth Church of Cleveland. ' ' It was 
also in, or near, 1850 that a Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation was organized in this city, and a work commenced 
that has been productive of increasing good, through all 
the years that have since passed. Reading rooms were 
opened on Superior street, and the Association flourished 
until the breaking out of the Civil War, when a majority 




Y. M. C. A. BUILDING, 1875. 



3S 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

of the members answered the call of their country, and 
the Association passed into suspension, for lack of support. 
In 1866, the present Association was organized. In 1872, 
it opened rooms on the north side of the Public Square, 
and later moved to more commodious quarters on Euclid 
avenue, near Sheriff street. Still later, it erected and oc- 
cupied a handsome and commodious building- on the cor- 
ner of Prospect and Erie streets. It has done great good 
in various ways, not the least of which has been the work 
among the railway men, and the opening and maintenance 
of a branch at the Union Passenger Depot. 

In accordance with the provisions of the new State con- 
stitution, adopted in 1851, the General Assembly passed 
a law for the organization and government of municipali- 
ties within the State, repealing all the charters then in 
force. The chief change in the local government was the 
abolishment of the Board of Aldermen, an increase in the 
number of elected officials, and the establishment of a 
police court, the duties of which had been previously per- 
formed by the mayor. 

William Case was elected mayor in 1850, and again in 
185 1, and Abner C. Brownell in 1852, the last chosen un- 
der the old charter. The city election of 1853 was one of 
unusual importance, as a number of new officials were 
added to the list of those chosen by the people. A special 
vote also was taken, to determine whether or not the city 
should expend four hundred thousand dollars for the 
erection of water works. Abner C. Brownell became his 
own successor, and the other officers first chosen under 
the new charter were as follows : Police Judge, John Barr ; 
Clerk of Poliee Court, Orlando J. Hodge; Prosecuting Attor- 
ney, Bushnell White; Commissioners of Water Works, H. 
B. Payne, B. L. Spangler, Richard Hilliard; Directors of 
Infirmary, Orson Spencer, James Barnett, Alex. W. Wal- 
ter; Commissioners of Streets, A. Mcintosh, J. M. Hughes, 
J. B. Wheeler; Marshal, Michael Gallagher; Auditor, J. 
B. Bartlett; Treasurer, William Hart; Solicitor, James 
Fitch; Fire Engineer, William Cowan; Harbor Master, C. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 355 

Stillman; Sexton, James A. Craw; Superintendent of Mar- 
kets , "W '. A. Morton; Sealer of Weights and Measures, David 
Shut; Weigher, A. Wheeler; Civil Engineer, J. W. Pills- 
bury; Constables, W. R. Simmons, John Odell, Barney 
Mooney, James Hill; Trustees, George F. Marshall, James 
B. Wigham, W. H. Sholl, James Gardner, Robert Reil- 
ley, W. J. Gordon, Henry Everett, Richard C. Parsons; 
Assessors, James Whitaker, William Redhead, David 
Schub, James Proudfoot. On the question of issuing 
water works bonds, the vote stood as follows: 

For. Against. 

First Ward 365 55 

Second Ward 2S5 21S 

Third Ward 423 61 

Fourth Ward 157 265 

1,230 599 

The City Council w^as busy, for some months, in pass- 
ing ordinances defining the duties of the new officers, 
and especially those of the newly-created municipal 
boards. The four hundred thousand dollars of bonds 
were delivered to the water works trustees, who were di- 
rected to go ahead and erect the works as soon as possible. 

The first session of Cleveland's Police Court was held 
on April 17, 1853, in a small back room in the Gaylord 
Block, on Superior street, between Seneca street and the 
Public Square. Jndge Barr did not occupy the bench, as 
none had been provided, but took his seat behind a low 
desk, while Mr. Hodge, the clerk, occupied a similar desk 
at his right. The first entry upon the record book is as 
follows: "The State of Ohio, City of Cleveland, S. A.; 
the Police Court of the City of Cleveland commenced and 
held in said city, on the 17th day of April, Anno Domini 
x 853, agreeable to the laws of the State of Ohio. Present 
his honor, John Barr, judge of the Police Court, C. C. ; B. 
White, Esq., prosecuting attorney of said city; M. Gal- 
lagher, marshal of said city. Attest, O. J. Hodge, clerk 
Police Court C. C." The first case upon the docket was 
for " getting up a false alarm of fire," while some of the 



SJ6 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



earlier charges were ''immoderate driving in the street," 
"selling unwholesome meat," " forestalling market," 
' ' soliciting guests drunk ' ' and a ' ' breach of the peace by 
disturbing a ball at Kelley's hall." A new police station 
house was erected within a reasonably short time, on 
Johnson street, near Water street, and the Police Court 
occupied its second story. 

The Probate Court of Cuyahoga County came, also, into 
existence under the new judicial system created by the 

new State constitution. Pre- 
vious to that time, the probate 
of wills and settlement of es- 
tates had been in the hands 
of the Common Pleas Court. 
A remarkable fact may be 
noted in connection with the 
office of probate judge — that, 
in all the years since the or- 
ganization of this court, it 
has had but three incum- 
bents. Flavel W. Bingham 
was elected in 1852, Daniel 




MAYOR STEPHEN BUHRER. 



R. Tilden 9r in 1 



bb> 



and 



Henry C. White, the present able incumbent, in 1887. 
The reference made heretofore to Dr. H. A. Ackley's 
determined and unselfish efforts to secure from the broken 
Canal Bank the money belonging to the insane of the 
State, suggests the existence of an institution which in 

97 "The long official life of Judge Tilden, is the most remarkable on 
record, either in this or any other State. He was, probably, fifty years old 
when he came to Cleveland. He had been a prominent lawyer in Portage 
County ; had held official position there, and had served m Congress, as far 
back as when Abraham Lincoln was a member. On coming to Cuyahoga 
County, he became a partner with Robert F. Paine, for a few years and 
until his election, in the fall of 1854, to the position which to him proved 
substantially a life office, at least reaching far beyond that period of life 
when judges in many States are necessitated to retire, by constitutional 
limitation." — " Bench and Bar of Cleveland," p. 35. Judge Tilden passed 
from life in 1S90. He was born in Connecticut in 1S06, and first came to the 
Western Reserve in 1828. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. S S7 

those days was in its infancy. On the 30th of April, 
1852, the State Legislature passed a law providing- for the 
erection of two additional asylums for the insane, the 
State then possessing but one, which was at Columbus. 
An appropriation was made for that purpose, and Prof. 
H. A. Ackley, E. B. Fee, Daniel B. Woods, Charles Cist, 
and Edwin Smith were appointed a board of trustees. 
At a meeting on July 9, 1852, it was decided that one of 
these institutions should be located in Xewburg. An 
adequate building was erected, and opened for the recep- 
tion of patients on March 5, 1855. Additions were made 
in i860, and again in 1870. By a fire which occurred on 
September 25, 1872, the greater part of this structure was 
destroyed, with the records and statistics, and some loss 
of life. The asylum was rebuilt, as soon as possible, a 
much finer and larger structure taking the place of the 
old one. The institution has borne several names, the 
changes being as follows : Northern Ohio Lunatic Asy- 
lum, Northern Ohio Hospital for the Insane, Cleveland 
Hospital for the Insane, and Cleveland Asylum for the 
Insane. Charity Hospital also saw its beginning in 1852, 
under the direction of Bishop Rappe, its building on 
Perry street being begun in 1863. St. Vincent's Orphan 
Asylum also was projected in 1852, by Bishop Rappe, 
and it was in this same year of benevolent work that the 
foundations of the Cleveland Protestant Orphan Asylum 
were laid. It was organized on January 22nd, at a meet- 
ing held for that purpose in the Stone Church. In 
April of the same year, the institution was opened in a 
leased house, on the corner of Erie and Ohio streets. In 
1855, the asylum was moved to its newly-erected build- 
ing on AVillson and Woodland avenues, where it re- 
mained for over twenty years, and then took possession 
of its present large and adequate structure on St. Clair 
street. The measure of its good work can only be found 
in an enumeration of the thousands of homeless little 
ones which it has gathered into its protecting fold. An- 
other of Cleveland's active benevolent institutions also 



33 8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

found its origin in 1853, when the Rev. D. Prosser, and 
others of a like missionary spirit, opened the so-called 
Ragged School, out of which, in after years, grew the In- 
dustrial School and Children's Aid Society and Home. 

In 1853, the vessel building interests of Cleveland took 
a new start, and made a rapid progress. By 1856, a total 
of thirty-seven new craft was reported, having a tonnage 
of nearly sixteen thousand. The industry has not only 
held its own from that day to this, but has grown into a 
prominent place in the commercial development of the 
city. Between 1849 and 1869, nearly five hundred vessels 
of all kinds for lake navigation were built in the district 
of Cuyahoga, nearly all of which were the production of 
Cleveland's yards. The rapid growth of the lake busi- 
ness of Cleveland is shown by the records of the Board of 
Trade, which as early as 1884 gave a total tonnage regis- 
ter of 84,295. 

The Western Reserve has been often described as a 
section of New England set down in Ohio. The ties that 
bound these western colonies to the parent State in the 
east were always strong, and even closer ones were 
woven near the middle of the century, by an increased 
immigration to Cleveland, from the New England States. 
It was decided, about this time, to form a permanent 
association among the New Englanders of the city. 
Steps toward carrying the idea into effect were taken on 
December 22, 1853. A meeting was held in the Second 
Presbyterian Church, where an eloquent address was 
delivered by Hon. Erastus Hopkins, of Massachusetts. 
The main portion of the audience then adjourned to the 
Weddell House, where a banquet was served, after which 
speeches were made by Mayor Brownell, R. P. Spalding, 
Hiram Griswold, John A. Foot, Gen. John Crowell, 
Richard C. Parsons, Rev. F. T. Brown, and others. 

Immediate action was not taken, but early in Decem- 
ber, 1855, the New England Society of Cleveland was or- 
ganized, with the following officers: President, Benjamin 
Rouse; Vice-Presidents, George Mygatt and Orlando Cut- 




f , I; I 




THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 359 

ter ; Managers. Peter Thatcher, Joseph Perkins, Selah 
Chamberlain, Joseph Masury and John C. Proctor. A 
constitution was adopted, in which it was declared that 
the membership should consist only of natives of New 
England States, or the sons of such natives. Dinners 
were given, from time to time, the last one being at the 
Angier House, in 1859. The subsequent history of the 
Society is thus related by its last treasurer, William 
Perry Fogg: 98 "Thirty years have passed, and the New 
England Society still remains but a memory of the gener- 
ation that is now rapidly passing away. In 1859, the 
writer, as treasurer of the society, had a balance in his 
hands of Si 1 1 . 50. It was deposited by him in the Society 
for Savings, and on September 18, 1895, he was informed 
that the amount standing to the credit of the New Eng- 
land Society was $290.30." 

The "memory" to which Mr. Fog-a- refers became once 
more an actuality, amid the reviving influences of Cleve- 
land's Centennial year. On December 21, 1895, there 
was a meeting of those of New England birth, at Plym- 
outh Congregational Church. Speeches were made by 
Charles F. Thwing, H. Q. Sargent, N. B. Sherwin, M. 
M. Hobart, F. J. Dickman and R. C. Parsons, and inter- 
esting reminiscences were related by L. F. Mellen, Mrs. 
E. M. Avery, Mrs. B. F. Taylor. Mrs. W. A. Ingham, 
W. P. Horton and L. E. Holden. Old-time songs were 
sung by "Grandfather" Snow and "Grandma" Hawley. 
This meeting was so inspiring that it was decided to re- 
vive the old New England Society, and so, on January 1, 
1896, it was reorganized, with the following officers: 
President, N. B. Sherwin; Vice-Presidents, L. E. Holden, 
E. R. Perkins, F. C. Keith, M. M. Hobart, F. J. Dick- 
man, William Bingham; Secretary, L. F. Mellen; Treasurer, 
S. C. Smith; CJiaplain, Rev. Livingston L. Taylor; Trus- 
tees. L. E. Holden, A. G. Colwell, R. C. Parsons, William 
Edwards, L. F. Mellen, S. C. Smith, M. M. Hobart, W. 

The New England Society of Cleveland — Its Origin and History;" 
by William Perry Fogg. — " Cleveland Plain Dealer," November 17, 1895. 






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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 3 6r 

the new grounds should be known as "Woodland Ceme- 
which was unanimously adopted, and on June 14th 
appropriate dedicatory services were conducted. 

The later additions to the cemeteries of Cleveland com- 
prise St. Mary's, Lake View, and Riverside. Monroe 
Street Cemetery became a part of Cleveland on the an- 
nexation of Ohio City. St. Mary's, on Clark avenue and 
Burton street, was purchased by Bishop Rappe and St. 
Mary's congregation, in 1861, and is used by the German 
and Bohemian Catholics of the West Side. 

Lake View Cemetery, on Euclid avenue, in the extreme 
eastern limits of the city, belongs to a private corpora- 
tion, known as the Lake View Cemetery Association. It 
was laid out in 1869, and covers an area of about three 
hundred acres. Lying upon a series of high knolls over- 
looking Lake Erie, with intervening valleys and natural 
water courses, it has been adorned by the hand of man, so 
that it stands to-day as one of the most beautiful and pic- 
turesque spots in America. Scores of magnificent monu- 
ments mark the resting place of Cleveland's dead, while 
above them the shaft, erected by a grateful and loving 
people, shows where the martyred Garfield lies in eternal 
sleep, in the heart of that beloved portion of Ohio where 
he was born, and in which his early days were passed. 

Riverside Cemetery, which overlooks the Cuyahoga 
River from the South Side, was laid out in 1876, by a com- 
pany of its lot owners, incorporated under the name of the 
Riverside Cemetery Association. One hundred and more 
acres of land were purchased and beautified, and, like 
Lake View, it has become one of the most beautiful places 
of burial to be found anywhere in the West. 

There have been many happy municipal marriages, but 
few have been so advantageous to both contracting par- 
ties, and followed by such fruitful results, as that concern- 
ing which I now speak. Manifest destiny made the Cuy- 
ahoga Valley a bond of union, rather than a line of divi- 
sion, between Cleveland and the City of Ohio. That these 
two civic corporations should become one, was ordained 



362 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

from the beginning, and it seems incredible, from this 
later point of view, that there should ever have been op- 
position to the union from any intelligent source ; yet such 
opposition there was, upon both sides of the river. 

A formal protest came from Cleveland in 1850, when A. 
Mcintosh offered a resolution in the City Council, declar- 
ing that as "an effort is being made by several individuals 
to obtain from the Legislature a law annexing Ohio City 
to the City of Cleveland, ' ' the City Council declares that 
such action " at this time is not desirable, and is not be- 
lieved to meet the views of our citizens, at so short no- 
tice. ' ' Five votes were cast in favor of this resolution, and 
three against it. 

The real official commencement of the annexation agita- 
tion was in the Cleveland City Council, on August 19, 
185 1, when Buckley Stedman introduced an ordinance 
providing for the submission of the question of annexation 
between Cleveland and Ohio City, to the qualified voters 
of Cleveland. The measure passed by a unanimous vote. 
At a meeting held on October 15th, the votes cast at a 
special election on October 14th were announced as fol- 
lows : 

For Union, For Union, 
"Yds." "JVo." 

First Ward 266 277 

Second Ward 230 337 

Third Ward .257 184 

Fourth Ward 97 300 

Total S50 1,098 

The question was, therefore, pretty well settled in the 
negative, so far as that vote went. In November, 1853, 
the question again loomed up, when Robert Reilley of- 
fered a resolution in the City Council, directing that a 
committee of three be appointed by the president "to con- 
sult with the members of the Ohio City Council, relative 
to taking initiatory steps towards annexing said city to 
the City of Cleveland, and report at the next meeting." 
This was adopted, and Robert Reilley, James B. YVigham 
and James Gardner were appointed said committee. 



THE HIS TORY OF CL E I ' EL . I ND. 363 

It took the committee some time to conclude their nego- 
tiations, as their report was not forthcoming until Feb- 
ruary 1. 1854, when the following was presented: " That 
said committee had a consultation with the Ohio City com- 
mittee, and that said committees together had adopted 
the following resolution, to wit : Resolved, That we recom- 
mend to the councils of the two cities which we respect- 
ively represent, to pass an ordinance submitting to the 
voters thereof the question of annexing their municipal 
corporations." 

On February 2nd, Richard C. Parsons presented an or- 
dinance to provide for a second submission to the qualified 
voters of the City of Cleveland of the question of annexa- 
tion. He moved that the rules requiring ordinances of a 
general and permanent nature to be read on three differ- 
ent days be suspended. This was agreed to, unanimously. 

The election occurred on April 3 (1854), the day of the 
regular city elections, and the result showed that there 
had been a great change of public opinion since the prop- 
osition came up before and was defeated. It was car- 
ried, with 1,892 votes for, to only 400 against. Ohio City 
voted on the same day, with the following result : For an- 
nexation, 618; against, 258. 

The next forward step by municipal Cleveland, for the 
union with her neighbor across the river, was taken on 
June 5th of the same year, when a special meeting was 
held to consider the report of the commissioners appointed 
to meet those of Ohio City. Those gentlemen informed 
the Council that they had " concluded an arrangement 
with said commissioners for the City of Ohio, providing 
the terms and conditions on which such annexation shall, 
if approved by the respective city councils, take place. ' ' 
The agreement they submitted covered a number of 
points, some of which were as follows : 

" That the territory now constituted the City of Ohio 
shall be annexed to, and constitute a part of, the City of 
Cleveland, and the First, Second, Third and Fourth 
wards of the former city, as now constituted, shall consti- 



3 6 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

tute the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh wards, re- 
spectively, of the last-named city; and the present trus- 
tees of said wards . . . shall hold their offices 
for the terms for which they have been severally elected." 
It was further agreed that the wards should be so arranged 
that the people on the west side of the river should have 
as large a proportion of the number thereof as it had of 
population, and that the property of each city should be- 
long to the joint corporation, which should be responsible 
for the debts of both. Ohio City's liability for bonds 
issued to pay its subscription to the Junction Railroad 
Company's stock, which were afterwards paid by the sale 
of the stock, was not included, however; while another 
exception gave to the original City of Cleveland any sur- 
plus it might realize from its subscriptions to several rail- 
roads, which surplus was to be expended, under the direc- 
tion of the trustees representing that district in the new 
corporation, for park or other public purposes." The 
commissioners on the part of Cleveland were W. A. Otis, 
H. V. Willson and F. T. Backus; while those represent- 
ing Ohio City were W. B. Castle, N. M. Standart and C. 
S. Rhodes. An ordinance was passed, on the same day, 
carrying the agreement into effect, and with the passage 
of a similar measure across the river, the union of the 

" ' • It is well known that the city realized a large surplus from its stocks, 
after the payment of its obligations given therefor, perhaps the only case 
of its kind in the whole country. In addition to this fund, the city also 
realized a considerable amount of stock from the sale of its lands north of 
Bath street, on the lake shore, to these several roads, to which it had given 
its credit. March 2S, 1862, an act was passed by the Legislature, creat- 
ing a board of fund commissioners, to take charge of this fund. Nothing 
more need be said of the management thereof, than that from this fund 
over a million and seven hundred thousand dollars, has been paid to dis- 
charge the debt of the city, and over a million still remains (18S4) in the 
hands of the commissioners. It is one of the pleasant recollections of the 
person who addresses you, that in his official capacity, representing this 
community, he inserted in his own handwriting, in the original bill as it 
was passed, the honored names of Henry B. Payne, Franklin T. Backus, 
William Case, Moses Kelley, and William Bingham, who thereby were 
made the commissioners of said fund." — Hon. S. O. Griswold, in "The 
Corporate Birth and Growth of Cleveland." — "Annals of the Early Set- 
tlers' Association," No. 5, p. 56. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



cities became complete, -that which nature, the needs of 
commerce, and the development of both, had joined to- 
gether, no man could thereafter put asunder. 1 

The first regular meeting of the joint City Council, was 

held on Monday, June 10, 1854. Richard C. Parsons was 
elected president by a unanimous vote, while J. B. Bart- 
lett was made city clerk. During several succeeding 
sessions, a large amount of routine business was disposed 
of, in getting the affairs of the enlarged corporation adjust- 
ed, and in disposing of the remnants of business left by 
Ohio City. Among these, were the excavation and open- 
ing of the ship channel, and the improvement of the old 
river bed. One of the questions soon disposed of was 
that of securing for the city an abundant and permanent 
supply of pure fresh water. 

We have already seen how a water company was cre- 
ated by legislation, in 1833, with an enlargement of pow- 
ers in 1850, and, also, how nothing came of the measure. 
One of the first steps taken in the direction of municipal 
ownership and control was in 1850, when George A. Bene- 
dict, and others, presented a petition to the City Council, 
urging the propriety of taking immediate steps for the 
" supplying of the city with wholesome water,'' and ask- 
ing that a competent hydraulic engineer be engaged to 
explore, survey, and estimate the expense of a supply 
from the Shaker Mill, Tinker's Creek and Lake Erie, and 
also "the amount of water to be relied upon from each 
of these sources." In January, 185 1, William Bingham 
offered a resolution appointing the mayor (William Case) 
and any three citizens he might choose, a committee to re- 
port to the Council, at as early a day as possible, a plan for 
supplying the city with water, and authorizing them to 
employ competent engineers to assist them in their duties. 

1 A list of the mayors of the City of Ohio may be given here as follows : 
1836, Josiah Barber; 1S37, Francis A. Burrows; 1838-9, Norman C. Bald- 
win; 1840-1, Xeedham M. Standart; 1842, Francis A. Burrows; 1S43, 
Richard Lord; 1844-5-6. D. H. Lamb; 1S47, David Griffith; 1848, John 
Beverlm; 1849, Thomas Burnham; 1850-1-2, Benjamin Sheldon; 1853, 
William B. Castle. 



S 66 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 

With that rare judgment and patriotic energy that char- 
acterized all his public labors. Mayor Case ~ gave himself 
to this labor, with a wisdom and a foresight that have been 
■well justified by results. Progress was made quite slowly, 
however, as October 29, 1852, arrived before a plan was 
submitted. On that date. Mayor Brownell announced to 
the City Council that " some two years ago a committee 
was appointed to examine the subject of supplying the 
city with pure water ; that in the discharge of their duties 
they had collected many valuable statistics, and were now 
present with their report." 

This was read by Mr. Case, was accepted, and referred 
to the special committee, with instructions to procure the 
services of a competent hydraulic engineer to "examine 
the report, make the necessary survey, and draw plans of 
the work, to be submitted to the Council at an early day." 
T. R. Scowden was engaged to perform the designated 
task. The plans and specifications were finally submitted 
on March 22, 1853, were adopted, and the committee dis- 
charged. 

The first board of Water Works Commissioners con- 
sisted of H. B. Payne, B. L. Spangler and Richard Hill- 
iard, who were elected under the new laws, at the general 
election of 1853. We have seen how bonds to the amount 
of two hundred thousand dollars were voted them, and 

-William Case, son of Leonard Case, Sr., was born in Cleveland on 
August 10, 1 818. He attended an academic school kept by the Rev. 
Colley Foster, on Ontario street, and then the preparatory school of 
Franklin T. Backus. He had hoped to enter Yale, but gave that up to 
become his father's business assistant. He was fond of hunting and nat- 
ural history, and was the moving spirit in that little coterie of congenial 
friends who established the famous "Ark," down on the Public Square. 
He served in the City Council, and as Mayor of Cleveland gave the city 
intelligent and patriotic service. He labored in the interest of Cleve- 
land's first railroad, serving as president of the Cleveland, Painesville & 
Ashtabula Railroad Company. As is above shown, he had much to do 
with the creation of the city's system of water works. In 1S59, he began 
the erection of Case Hall, but died of consumption in 1S62, before its 
completion. A full and appreciative sketch of the Case family, and its 
connections with Cleveland, may be found in the Western Reserve Histor- 
ical Society's Tract Xo. 79, from the able pen of Hon. James D. Cleveland. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



3*7 



how they were instructed to go ahead with the works. 
On October 12th, a resolution was passed by the Council, 
approving the suggestion of the commissioners that the 
works should be located on the west side of the river, and 
steps were taken for the appropriation of the needed land. 
The reservoir on Kentucky street, and the tall tower and 
pumping house on the lake front, soon stood in evidence 




THE CITY HALL. 



as to how well the instructions had been carried out. 
Cleveland was secure in a water supply, and the day of the 
cistern and town pump had gone by forever. 

Among the leading events of a general nature set down 
to the credit of 1855, was the lease of a portion of the new 
Jones building, on the southwest corner of the Public 
Square, for a Council Hall, and for other municipal pur- 



3 68 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

poses. Possession was taken in November, and there the 
municipal headquarters remained, until the lease of the 
new Case Block, now occupied. In the same year, Cleve- 
land became possessor of its first United States District 
Court, with Hiram V. Willson as judge; Daniel O. Mor- 
ton, district attorney; Jabez W. Fitch, marshal; and 
Frederick W. Green, clerk. Lewis Dibble became chief 
bailiff, and Henry H. Dodge and Bushnell White, the first 
United States Commissioners. The opening of this court 
was the occasion of one of the most notable of the social 
gatherings of the Cleveland Bar, and has been described 3 
as follows: " The first of the series of legal and judicial 
festivities, within the memory or knowledge of the writer, 
was a banquet at the Angier House (now Kennard House), 
in 1855, given by the members of the Cleveland Bar to 
the gentlemen of the bar of the northern district of Ohio, 
then in attendance on the United States District Court, 
soon after the accession of Judge Willson, the first judge 
of that .court. It was a memorable occasion. The ap- 
pointments of the great dining hall, and the luxuries of 
the table, were in keeping with the admirable taste of the 
proprietor, and the fame of the house. The occasion was 
honored by the presence of Judge Willson, and a very 
large number of the most prominent lawyers of the sev- 
eral counties comprising the United States judicial dis- 
trict." 

In 1856, steps were taken toward enclosing the Public 
Square, and a committee of the City Council appointed to 
investigate the legality of such action. They reported 
favorably, but no action was taken until March, 1857, 
when fences were erected ; and it took legal action and a 
decision of the court, in 1867, to remove the obstructions, 
and to establish the legal fact that the highways of Su- 

3 F. T. Wallace, in "Bench and Bar of Cleveland," p. 176. At a date 
somewhat later than that named above, banquets were annually held by 
the Cleveland Bar, the first occurring on March 10th, iSSo, presided over 
by Hon. Henry B. Payne. Speeches were made by Martin Welker, R. F. 
Paine, D. R. Tilden, J. M. Jones, John W. Heisley, John Hutchins, and 
F. J. Dickman. Similar gatherings were also held in 1SS1, 1S82, and 1SS3. 



THE HIS /'( )RY OF < Z A' / 7:7. AND. 






perior and Ontario streets must be left forever unbarred 
to travel, and the use oi vehicles and pedestrians. There 
was great excitement upon both occasions, man}- opposing 

the fence in the one instance, and many other its removal 
in the other. 

Steps were taken, in 1856, towards the erection of an ad- 
equate market house, and a committee which had been 
previously appointed reported to the City Council, in De- 
cember, in favor of the present Central Market grounds, 
on Ontario and Bolivar streets. The land was purchased 
and cleared, and the erection 
and opening of the building 
soon followed. 

The year 1857 was one of 
importance in this respect, 
that it saw the practical open- 
ing of the iron business, to 
which. Cleveland owes so 
much, and which has done so 
much, to make this a great 
manufacturing center. Of 
the beginnings in this line, 
Charles A. Otis, 4 a prominent 




MAYOR F. W. PELTON. 

iron manufacturer, has said: 

" The first rolling mill at Cleveland was a plate mill, 
worked on a direct ore process, which was a failure. It 
went into operation in 1854 or 1855. The mill is now 
(1884) owned by the Britton Iron & Steel Company. The 
next mill was built in 1856, by A. J. Smith and others, to 
re-roll rails. It was called the Railroad Rolling Mill, and 
is now owned by the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company. 
At the same time, a man named Jones, with several as- 
sociates, built a mill at Xewburg, six miles from Cleveland. 
also to re-roll rails. It was afterwards operated by Stone, 
Chisholm & Jones, and is now owned by the Cleveland 
Rolling Mill Company. In 1852, I erected a steam forge 

4 Statement in "History of the Manufacture of Iron in all Ages." by 
James M. Swank; p. 240. Published in Philadelphia in 1S84. 



37 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

to make wrought iron forcings, and in 1859, I added to it 
a rolling mill, to manufacture merchant bar, etc. The 
Union Rolling Mills were built in 1861 and 1862, to roll 
merchant bar iron. ' ' 

The service rendered by Henry Chisholm to the iron in- 
terests of Cleveland cannot be overestimated. By uni- 
versal consent, he stands at the head of the city's benefac- 
tors in this direction. He was born in Scotland, in 1822, 
and came to America when twenty years of age. He was 
a carpenter, and followed that trade in Montreal, and in 
1850 was engaged in the construction of railroad break- 
waters in Cleveland, and soon after settled permanently 
in this city. In 1857, as above stated, he became a manu- 
facturer of iron in Newburg, building a small mill for the 
manufacture of bar and railroad iron. In this was found 
the beginning of the great Cleveland Rolling Mill Com- 
pany, which only a few years ago was described as em- 
ploying five thousand hands, consuming annually four 
hundred thousand tons of coke and coal, and turning out 
one hundred and fifty thousand tons of finished product, 
annually. To Mr. Chisholm, more than to any other one 
man, was due the magnificent success of this great enter- 
prise, and its direct beneficial effect upon the growth 
and prosperity of Cleveland. " He was among the early 
ones," says one appreciative student 5 of his career, "to 
see that steel rails would entirely take the place of iron, 
and one of the first to make a commercial success of the 
Bessemer process in this country. But where his signal 
ability most completely displayed itself was in recogniz- 
ing the fact that, for the highest prosperity, a steel mill 
should have more than 'one string; to its bow,' and that to 
run in all times, and under all circumstances, Bessemer 
steel must be adapted to other uses than the making of 
rails. Holding tenaciously to this idea, he was the first 
to branch out into the manufacture of wire, screws, agri- 
cultural and merchant shapes, from steel. To the prog- 

5 " The Coal and Iron Industry of Cleveland," by James F. Rhodes. — 
" Magazine of Western History," Vol. II., p. 343. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 37, 



ress in this direction must be imputed a large share of the 

success o\ his company, and it further entitles Mr. Chis- 
holm to be regarded as one of the greatest, if not the 
greatest man, who has been engaged in the Bessemer 
steel manufacture in this country. It is rare, indeed, that 
mechanical skill and business ability are united in one and 
the same individual, and it was to this exceptional combi- 
nation of talents that Mr. Chisholm owed his more than 
splendid success. A Scotchman by birth and nature, and 
loving the poems of his nation's bard with an ardor that 
only a Scot can feel, he became as thorough an American 
citizen as if he had drawn his inspiration from Plymouth 
Rock, and he performed his civic duties with an ever- 
serene confidence in the merit of our institutions." 

While the manufacture of iron in Cleveland could have 
been carried on to a limited extent, through use of the 
ores near at home, it was the opening of the Lake Supe- 
rior iron regions that made the magnificent results of to- 
day a possibility. There are some, perhaps, who do not 
realize how Cleveland capital and Cleveland brains as- 
sisted in the development of that region, and, therefore, a 
presentation of the facts that follow seems a matter of 
necessity. 

It was in 1846 that Cleveland parties appeared on the 
scene and opened the way for the immense business that 
has grown up between that region and this city. Dr. J. 
Lang Cassels, of Cleveland, visited Lake Superior in 
1846, and took ''squatter's possession," in the name of the 
Dead River Silver & Copper Mining Company of Cleve- 
land — an enterprise in which were many of the men after- 
wards found in the Cleveland Iron Company. He was 
guided to the desired location by an Indian, and made the 
journey thereto and return, from the nearest settled point, 
in a birch bark canoe. In the following year, he left that 
country and returned to Cleveland, where he made a mild 
prophecy as to the mineral wealth of the Superior region, 
which was received with general incredulity. 

The Cleveland Iron Company was formed in 1849, but 



37* 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 



did little business in the Superior country until 1853. Its 
first organization was under a special Michigan charter, 
but on March 29, 1853. it filed articles of association, un- 
der the name of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, 
with a capital stock of five hundred thousand dollars. 
The incorporators were John Outhwaite, Morgan L. Hew- 
itt. Selah Chamberlain. Samuel L. Mather, Isaac L. 
Hewitt. Henry F. Bray ton and E. M. Clark. The office 
was located at Cleveland, and some of the lands of which 
it became possessed now comprise the principal part of 
the City of Marquette. In 1854. the Cleveland Company 
mined four thousand tons of ore, which was made into 




NEW ENGLAND HOTEL. I854. 

blooms at the different forges in the vicinity, and sent to 
the lower lake points, some of it coming to this city. 

This company, from the day of its origin, was looked 
upon as one of the most solid and important of the com- 
mercial concerns of Cleveland. It had much to do with 
creating and fostering the iron interests of Ohio and 
Western Pennsylvania. Its first cargo of ore to this point 
was brought in 1856. and sold in small lots to such parties 
as were willing to give it an experimental trial. 

It should also be said, in this connection, that the first 
ore from that section was shipped to Cleveland, in 1852, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 373 



by the Marquette Iron Company, in a half-dozen barrels, 
aboard the ship "Baltimore." The low estimation in 
which this ore was held by this business community dur- 
ing the experimental stages is illustrated by the following 
incident, related by George H. Ely. He was living in 
Rochester, New York, where he held the position of pres- 
ident of the Lake Superior Iron Company. A small cargo 
of ore had been shipped to a Cleveland party, who was 
unable to pay the freight, and so little commercial value 
was attached to the iron that the whole cargo was not 
considered sufficient security for the freight charges, and 
Mr. Ely was drawn on before they could be paid. 

It is almost impossible to touch upon the iron industry 
of Cleveland without referring, also, to those great re- 
sources in the way of cheap fuel, that have made the 
economical manufacture of iron at this point a possibility. 
It has been already noted how the first load of coal was 
hauled about the streets of Cleveland, with no buyers. 
Little progress in its introduction as a popular fuel, for 
either house or factory, was made for several years suc- 
ceeding that early attempt. In 1845, "the Brierhill mine 
was opened, near Youngstown, Ohio, by David Tod, 
Daniel P. Rhodes, of Cleveland, and a Mr. Ford. In the 
beginning, they had an output of some fifty tons per week, 
and the main market was found among the steamers then 
doing a large passenger and freight business upon Lake 
Erie. The coal was brought to Cleveland by canal until 
1856, when the completion of the Cleveland & Mahoning 
Railroad expedited its transportation, and gave the trade 
a great impetus. The completion of the Cleveland & 
Pittsburg Railroad opened the coal fields of Columbiana 
County to a market, while the products of the great Mas- 
sillon mines became available in i860. The rapid increase 
of the business may be judged from the following fig- 
ures: In 1865, Cleveland's receipts of coal were 465,550 
tons; in 1884, 1,831,112 tons. 



CHAPTER XV. 

EXPANSION AND GROWTH. 

The financial panic of 1857 had a serious effect, to a cer- 
tain degree, upon the prosperity of Cleveland, but was 
followed by no such disastrous general wreckage as that 
of 1837. Happily, there were no failures among the Cleve- 
land banks, the principal effect being a temporary stag- 
nation of business, and the refusal of most people to make 
investments during the unsettled times. The recovery 
was general, and by i860 the business of Cleveland no 
longer felt the disturbance. 

The doctrine of secession, in a local way, was brought 
up for discussion in 1858, when some twenty-five residents 
of the eastern part of the city attempted to have that ter- 
ritory detached from incorporated Cleveland and attached 
to the township of East Cleveland. A petition was sent 
to the State Legislature, asking for this change. This was 
met by a remonstrance, which declared that the "proposed 
dismemberment" was not desired by a majority of the 
people affected by it, and that the names attached to the 
petition did not li represent men of wealth and posses- 
sions." The measure failed of success. 

The growth of Cleveland, and consequently the legal 
business of Cuyahoga County, had for some time fore- 
shadowed the necessity for increased courthouse facilities, 
and action was taken in the period now under considera- 
tion. It was decided to clear the Public Square perma- 
nently of official buildings, and accordingly a new struct- 
ure and a new site were agreed upon. This latter was 
situated just north of the northwest corner of the Public 
Square, on the north side of Rockwell street. On No- 
vember 10, 1857, the County Commissioners contracted 
with George P. Smith and James Pannell to erect a sub- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



375 



stantial stone edifice, three stories high, at a cost of 
(152,500. This building, now called "the old court- 
house," filled all the requirements of county business un- 
til 1S75, when increasing demand for more room was an- 
swered by the erection of a large and imposing addition. 
Ground was purchased on Seneca street, running back 
to the old building, and a contract let for a new court- 
house, at a cost of $250,000. It was nearly square, run- 




THE PROPOSED NEW COURTHOUSE. 



ning seventy feet in each, direction, with, rooms for vari- 
ous officials and the courts in the Seneca front, and a 
jail in the rear. A still further increase of facilities was 
made in 1884, when two stories were added to the old 
building, at a cost of nearly Si 00, 000. 

The Cleveland schools also, by 1859, na( ^ outgrown the 
methods of management described in a previous chapter, 
and in the year named the old order gave way to the new. 



37& 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



By special enactment of the Legislature, the election of 
members of a Board of Education was for the first time 
placed in the hands of the people, one member being 
elected from each ward, one-half of the wards electing 
annually. Although the Board of Education now held 
the same relation to the people that was held by the City 
Council, the former was subject to the latter, in several 
respects. The Council was still required to "provide and 

support such number 




KENTUCKY STREET SCHOOL BUILDING, 1S50. 



and grade of schools 
as may be necessary 
to furnish a good com- 
mon school education 
to all the children," 
and to support two 
high schools. The 
Board was required 
to certify to the Coun- 
cil an estimate of the 
amount necessary to 
be raised for school 
purposes, but the Council might, at pleasure, levy a tax 
for an amount greater or less than the amount thus es- 
timated, provided it did not exceed the limit fixed in the 
general law of the State. 

The Board of Education had the management and con- 
trol of the schools, employed and dismissed teachers, 
fixed their compensation, and furnished all necessary sup- 
plies and apparatus ; but could not expend more than fifty 
dollars for school furniture or repairs for any one school or 
school building, without first obtaining the consent of the 
Council. In like manner, the approval of the city legisla- 
ture was required, in fixing the boundaries of school dis- 
tricts. 

In April, 1868, another act was passed "to provide for 
the support and regulation of the public schools of Cleve- 
land," by which all restraints of the Board of Education 
on the part of the City Council were removed, saving 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 377 

one — whenever additional school room was needed, it be- 
came necessary for the Board to recommend to the Coun- 
cil the "purchase of proper sites, and the erection of suit- 
able school houses thereon," and the Council was then 
required to act on such recommendation, without delay, 
and, in case of approval, to "provide in such manner as 
shall seem most expedient such sums of money as may be 
necessary to carry the same into effect." This change in 
legal power gave the Board complete control of the 
schools, with the right to levy taxes without restriction of 
the Council, and allowing the latter power only in the 
purchase of real estate and the erection of buildings. 

In May, 1873, a general law was passed by the Legisla- 
ture, whereby all special enactments pertaining to the 
management of schools in towns, cities and special dis- 
tricts w r ere entirely superseded. This gave the City 
Council no voice whatever in school affairs. 

The members of the first Board of Education, elected by 
the people, were as follows: Charles Bradburn, Allyne 
Maynard, Charles S. Reese, William H. Stanley, Nathan 
P. Payne, W. P. Fogg, Lester Hayes, J. A. Thorne, F. 
B. Pratt, Daniel P. Rhodes and George R. Vaughn. 

The dawn of 1 860 found the school system of the city in 
a shape that produced good results for the present, and 
offered larger rewards for the future. The schools on 
both sides of the river had been consolidated, a board 
elected by the people was in control, a superintendent 
gave his wmole time to oversight, a high school was in 
progress upon the east side of the river, and another on 
the west side. During the War of the Rebellion, and run- 
ning on up to 1865, the schools kept growth apace with 
the rest of the city, but during that period little was done 
in connection with them w r hich is of general historical in- 
terest. 

The incumbent of the office of school superintendent 
from 1863 to 1866 was Anson Smyth. In the year last 
named, he was succeeded by Andrew J. Rickoff. In 1867, 
when East Cleveland was annexed, its schools came under 



378 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



control of the city. In 1868, supervising principals were 
appointed, to give immediate direction to the teachers in 
the grammar and primary departments. Consequent on 
this change, women principals were placed in charge of 
the various school buildings, in place of men, as had been 
the custom at an earlier date. In 1870, the study of Ger- 
man was introduced. In 1874, a normal school was estab- 




THF. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING. 

lished, for the instruttion of those who desired to become 
teachers. In 1877, the Board of Education contracted for 
the erection of a new high school building on Willson 
avenue, near Cedar avenue, and, when completed, it was 
rightly regarded as one of the finest structures of its kind 
in Ohio. 

A notable and suggestive feature of 1859 was the organ- 






sW 




THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. S79 

ization of Cleveland's first street railway — the East 
Cleveland Railway Company — and in [860 the road was 
opened for business, between Bank street and Willson 
avenue. On the 6th of Oetober of that year, the president 
of the company, Henry S. Stevens, in presence of a num- 
ber of gentlemen associated with him in the enterprise, 
broke ground at the eastern terminus, and then " invited 
the stockholders and patrons present to meet at the other 
end of the route, near Water street, three weeks from 
that day, to celebrate the completion of the first street 
railroad in Cleveland, and in the State." In 1863, an ex- 
tension was completed through to East Cleveland, and 
five years later the branch line on Ohio and Garden 
streets was set in operation. The Kinsman Street Rail- 
way Company, with a line running from Bank street out 
Kinsman street (now Woodland avenue), was also or- 
ganized in 1859, an d a portion of the line built. The 
West Side Railway Company came into being in 1863, and 
during the year following, a route was opened over De- 
troit street. The Superior & St. Clair Street Railway 
Company was organized in 1867, the Rocky River Rail- 
road Company in 1868, the Broadway & Newburgh Rail- 
way Company in 1873, the South Side Railway Company 
in 1874, the Woodland Hills Avenue Railroad in 1874, 
and the Superior Street Railway Company in 1875. 
Among these pioneer organizations in the street railway 
system of Cleveland were several that had a great influ- 
ence in developing Cleveland, and in placing her business 
and manufacturing districts in touch with the residence 
portions. To these lines, more than to anything else, per- 
haps, is due the fact that Cleveland is a city of homes, and 
that somewhere within reach of daily business or employ- 
ment can be found a location for home-owning and home- 
building that is not beyond the financial means of the 
most humble laborer. A city in which the great majority 
are their own landlords, is built upon a rock of stability 
that nothing can shake. 

Carrying this record down to the present day, we find 



jSo THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

that the street railway system of Cleveland received a 
great impetus in 1879, when Tom L. Johnson came to the 
city. At that time, the Brooklyn Street Railway, always 
an unfortunate property, was in sore straits. Mr. John- 
son bought it for a song, and at once infused live business 
methods into its management. He gave it a double 
track on Pearl street, obtained the right, a little later, to 
bring it across the Viaduct to the Public Square, and 
finally, in 1883, extended it by way of Scovill avenue to 
Woodland Cemetery. He also gave it branches on both 
sides of the river — one on Clark avenue, from Pearl 
street to the C. C. C. & I. Railroad tracks, the other on 
Willson avenue, from Scovill avenue to Beyerle Park, in 
Newburg. Transfers were given when desired, and the 
fare for the entire trip was reduced to five cents. In 
1885, Mr. Johnson bought the South Side Railway, and, 
modernizing its equipment and service, made it a part of 
his system. It had been operated with cars of a primitive 
make. When the Central Viaduct was completed, the 
route of the South Side line was changed, and the hilly 
road on Jennings avenue and Seneca street abandoned. 
In 1889 and 1890, the present Scranton avenue line, run- 
ning from Superior street through Seneca street and 
Scranton avenue to Clark avenue, was built. 

These aggressive tactics naturally stirred the rival 
roads to action, and their managers met the Johnson im- 
provements promptly. In 1875, the East Cleveland Rail- 
road Company had experimented with the Knight- Bent- 
ley system, one that employed a conduit, on its Garden 
street line, east of Willson avenue, but with no success. 
No further attempt to use electricity was made until 1888, 
when the same company adopted the trolley system on its 
Euclid avenue line, east of Willson avenue. Later in the 
year, the line was electrically equipped to the Square, and 
its adoption on all the lines of the company soon followed. 
The Brooklyn Street Railroad Company adopted electric- 
ity as its motive power in June, 1888, and the Broadway 
& Newburgh Street Railway Company followed suit, in 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 381 



a few months. The expense of changing the motive 
power o\ the various roads to eleetrieity was very great, 
because it rendered useless their old rolling stoek, and de- 
manded heavier and more expensive rails. According" to 
the companies, the expenses of operating were decidedly 
increased, but they admitted a profit from the augmented 
traffic attendant upon the improved cars and service. 

The Superior Street Railroad, which was first operated 
in September, 1874, was extended, in 1885, along Payne 
avenue, from its intersection at Superior street to Russell 
avenue, by way of Willson and Lexington avenues. The 
next year it was extended along Hough avenue, to Wade 
Park, its present eastern terminus. In 1889, the Superior 
and the Payne lines, previously operated by horse-power, 
were converted into cable roads, at an enormous expense, 
the time occupied in the operation being two years. At 
this time, the Cleveland City Cable Railway Company 
was organized. It purchased the Superior and Payne 
lines, also the St. Clair Street Railway. This last was 
equipped with electricity, and extended out St. Clair 
street to Glenville, taking the place of the old Glenville 
road. 

In 1885, the old Kinsman Street Railroad, then known 
as the Woodland Avenue Railroad, and owned chiefly by 
Stillman Witt and D. P. Eells, was consolidated with the 
West Side Railroad Company, and the combined line was 
known as the Woodland Avenue & West Side Street Rail- 
road Company. No change of passengers was made at 
the Square, — cars ran the entire length of the line. In 
1893, having seen the benefit of consolidation, proposals 
were made by this company to the Cleveland City Cable 
Railway Company, looking to a combination of the two 
properties. The bargain was completed in June, 1893, 
and the new company named the Cleveland City Railway 
Company. 

In April of the same year, 1893, the Cleveland Electric 
Railway Company w r as organized, by the consolidation of 
the East Cleveland Street Railroad Company, the Broad- 



382 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 



way & Newburg Street Railroad Company, the Brooklyn 
Street Railroad Company, and the South Side Street Rail- 
road Company. The East Cleveland Street Railroad 
Company, it may be stated, then consisted of four lines, 
the Euclid avenue, the Central avenue, the Cedar avenue 
(built in 1882), and the Wade Park (built in 1889). These 
consolidations placed the street railway traffic of the city 
in the hands of but two companies. They operate about 
one hundred miles of double tracks, embraced in twenty- 
three different lines. Of these, the Cleveland City Electric 
Railway Company operate seventeen lines ; the remaining 
six are the property of the Cleveland City Railway Com- 
pany. 

An event which caused great excitement in Cleveland, 
in 1859, was the trial of the Oberlin- Wellington rescue 
cases, in the United States Court, in this city. The 
trouble had occurred in the places named, but, as the 
whole matter was transferred bodily here, at a time when 
feeling on the slavery question was running at its high- 
est, some reference thereto seems not only proper, but 
necessary. In 1856, a number of slaves held by John G. 
Bacon, of Kentucky, escaped, and started for the Xorth. 
Among them was one named John, and, in 1858, word 
reached Bacon that the runaway could be found near 
Oberlin, which was then the center of Ohio Abolitionism. 
An agent, named Anderson Jennings, was sent to Oberlin, 
to claim and carry back the fugitive. He succeeded in 
making the capture, and started south with his man, but 
at Wellington, on September 15th, was surrounded by a 
mob of perhaps a thousand men, who rescued the slave, 
and sent him on the way to certain liberty. An appeal 
was made to the United States courts, and in December, 
1858, indictments were returned against twenty-seven of 
the leading residents of that section of Ohio. 

They were brought to Cleveland, and on April 5, 1859, 
one of their number, Simeon Bushnell, was put on trial. 
Intense excitement was caused, not only in this city, but 
all through Xorthern Ohio, while the proceedings were 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 383 

watched from all parts of the country. Judge II. V. 
Willson occupied the bench, and George W. Belden was 

the district attorney. George Bliss assisted in the pi 
cution, while the defense was represented by a remarka- 
bly strong array of talent — R. P. Spalding, F. T. Backus, 
A. G. Riddle and S. O. Griswold. The offense charged 
was '* rescuing a fugitive from service," and evidence of 
the clearest character was shown to prove the guilt of the 
accused, under the laws then existing. The trial lasted 
ten days, a verdict of guilty was rendered, and the sen- 
tence was a fine of six hundred dollars, with sixty days' 
imprisonment in the county jail. The other cases were 
disposed of with fines and imprisonment for some, and dis- 
missal in the case of others. The indignation of the pub- 
lic was great against the laws that made such convictions 
possible, and the trials greatly increased the feeling 
against slavery in this community.' 5 

The chief event of local interest connected with i860 
was the erection and dedication of the monument to Com- 
modore Oliver Hazard Perry, in commemoration of his 
decisive victory in the battle of Lake Erie.' The idea of 
this grateful tribute originated with Harvey Rice, then a 
member of the City Council, who, in June, 1857, intro- 
duced in that body resolutions in relation to the subject. 
A select committee of five were empowered to contract 
for the erection of a monument to Perry, " in commemora- 
tion of his heroic services, in achieving the victory on 
Lake Erie, in the year 18 13." To meet the expenses, the 
committee were authorized to solicit subscriptions from 

( The complete history of these cases has been published in a volume long 
out of print, entitled: "History of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue," 
compiled by Jacob R. Shipherd, with an introduction by Henry E. Peck 
and Ralph Plumb. Boston. 1859. Information of value may also be found 
in " The Underground Railroad," by James H. Fairchild, ex-president of 
Oberlin College. — Western Reserve Historical Society's Collections, Vol. 
IV., Tract Xo. 5;. p. 112. 

7 A full account of this event may be found in a publication ordered by 
the City Council, entitled: " Inauguration of the Perry Statue, at Cleve- 
land, on the 10th of September, 1S60; including the Addresses, and other 
Proceedings." Cleveland, 1S61. 



3*4 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



the citizens. The resolutions were unanimously adopted, 
and the following gentlemen were named as that commit- 
tee: Harvey Rice, O. M. Oviatt, J. M. Cofflnberry, J. 
Kirkpatrick and CD. Williams. 

On the 14th of October, the committee contracted with 
T. Jones & Sons, of Cleveland, to erect the monument. 
They agreed to do the work for six thousand dollars (in- 
creased somewhat thereafter), for the payment of which 

they were willing to 




rely on the voluntary 
subscriptions of the 
citizens of Cleveland, 
"taking the risk of ob- 
taining the required 
amount on them- 
selves." 8 

Arrangements were 
made with William 
Walcutt, to design 
and model the statue. 
The marble was 
shipped from Italy, 
and the work done in 
Cleveland. The ped- 
estal was constructed 
of Rhode Island gran- 
ite, twelve feet high, 
while the figure was 
to be eight feet and 
two inches high, so as 
to appear life-size to 
the eye, when placed upon the pedestal, making the en- 
tire height of the monument, including the base, twenty- 
five feet. 

The day set for the unveiling and public inauguration, 

8 Five thousand dollars were raised by public subscription, and the sum of 
three thousand and eight dollars appropriated by the City Council, from 
the city treasury, to make up the deficiency. 




THE PERRY MONUMENT. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. jSj 



was September 10, i860, the forty-seventh anniversary of 
Perry's victory. Formal invitations were extended, on be- 
half of the city, to the governor and other State officials of 
Rhode Island — where Perry was born, and whose soil 
contained his remains, — to be present and assist in the 
exercises. The Governor of Ohio, and other distinguished 
gentlemen, were also invited. It was ordered by the City 
Council that the statue should be placed in the center of 
the Public Square, at the intersection of Ontario and Su- 
perior streets. 

Governor Sprague, and the other officials of Rhode 
Island, arrived in the city on September 8th, and were es- 
corted to the Angier House by the Cleveland Grays and 
Light Guard, and also the Wayne Guards, of Erie, Pa. 
A speech of welcome was made by William Dennison, 
Governor of Ohio, and was responded to by Governor 
Sprague. 

The 10th was ushered in by the ringing of bells, the 
firing of cannon, and other demonstrations of public joy. 
Streams of visitors, to the number of one hundred thou- 
sand, poured in from all directions. A procession of im- 
posing length and character was formed, and reached the 
Public Square at one in the afternoon. "A large area" — 
I quote from the record above referred to — "had been 
roped off, in the center of which was the statue, on a 
green mound, enclosed by an iron railing. To the west 
of the statue was placed a large platform, capable of hold- 
ing several hundred persons. This was appropriated to 
the invited guests. A smaller raised platform, in front, 
was for the speakers, and survivors of the battle. Imme- 
diately in front was a lower platform, excellently arranged, 
for the convenience of reporters. The statue was veiled 
with the American flag. 

The exercises were opened with prayer, by Rev. Dr. 
Perry, one of the relatives of the Commodore. The sculp- 
tor, Mr. Walcutt, then entered the enclosure and removed 
the flag, amid the cheers of the assembled thousands. He 
followed with brief remarks, and the speech of presenta- 



?86 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



tion to the city was then made by Harvey Rice, chairman 
of the monument committee, who was responded to by 
Mayor Senter. 

Hon. George Bancroft, orator of the day, was next in- 
troduced, and spoke with that rare eloquence and patri- 
otic thought that characterized all his public efforts. A 
series of reminiscences were given by Dr. Usher Parsons, 
surgeon of Perry's flag-ship "Lawrence," and a brief 
speech was made by Captain Thomas Brown ell, pilot of 
the "Ariel," which took part in the same battle. Oliver 
Hazard Perry, the only surviving son of the Commodore, 
was then called upon, and responded. The monument was 
then dedicated by the Masons, according to their ritual, 
and an ode sung by Ossian E. Dodge, the celebrated vo- 
calist. 

A mock battle on the lake, in which the main events of 
the great struggle of 1813 were reproduced, succeeded the 
inauguration ceremonies, while a Masonic banquet, at the 
Weddell House, was given in the evening. A reception 
by the governors of Ohio and Rhode Island, and a farewell 
dinner, were among the later features of one of the great- 
est, most patriotic and successful events of a public char- 
acter that has been anywhere recorded in the long and 
eventful history of Cleveland. 

Things of tremendous moment followed swiftly upon 
this patriotic endeavor to do honor to a hero of a war that 
meant so much for the preservation of the American na- 
tion ; and the people who listened to the stirring speeches 
of this day of celebration, were soon put to a supreme test 
-of patriotic devotion, to a cause as great as that for which 
Perry fought. 

The great political contest of i860, the election of Lin- 
coln, and the signs of trouble that overcast all the horizon 
to the southward, belong to the history of our country, and 
cannot be related here. There was no section of the 
whole great, willing, patriotic and enthusiastic Xorth that 
responded to the call of the Union for defense and support 
more readily and willingly than Cleveland, and that por- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 3*7 



tion of the West of which it is the metropolis. This was 

not a spasmodic effort, in the first burst of enthusiasm, but 
was continuous all through the war. 

An event occurred in the early days of [861 that served 
to increase the popular detestation of slavery, and the 
feeling- against those by whom it was supported. This 
was the capture, in Cleveland, of a runaway slave-girl 
named Lucy, and her return to bondage, only a few weeks 
before the guns of Sumter sounded the knell of the sys- 
tem of which she was a victim. 

Early on the morning of January 19, 1861, a posse of 
United States officers, under the leadership of Seth A. 
Abbey, a deputy United States marshal, entered by force 
the residence of L. A. Benton, on Prospect street, and ar- 
rested this young mulatto girl, who had been employed as 
a domestic, and who was claimed by William S. Goshorn, 
of Wheeling, Va., as an escaped slave. She was locked 
up in the county jail, and as soon as news of the arrest 
spread throughout the city, excitement rose to a white 
heat. A great mob gathered about the jail, threatening 
to set the prisoner at liberty by force. An application for 
a writ of habeas corpus was made by R. P. Spalding, A. G. 
Riddle and C. W. Palmer, acting in behalf of the girl. 

The writ was passed upon by Probate Judge Tilden, on 
the morning of January 21st. He decided that the sher- 
iff, an officer of the county, had no right to hold her, and 
ordered her release. She was taken in charge by the 
United States marshal, who was compelled to swear in a 
hundred and fifty specials, to assist in the preservation of 
the peace. The girl, with difficulty, was taken to the 
United States building, and but little would have been 
necessary to precipitate a bloody riot. Her case was 
heard before United States Commissioner White, and it 
was shown that, under the United States laws then exist- 
ing, the defense had no shadow of a case — all that her able 
attorneys could do, was to make those laws and their exe- 
cution, odious in the eyes of the public. She was awarded 
to the control of the slave-holder. An attempt was made 



388 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 






by benevolent persons in Cleveland to purchase her free- 
dom, but the owner, although offered double her value in 
the market, refused to sell her, and persisted in carrying 
her back to Virginia. She was taken to the train by an 
armed guard, and her owner succeeded in getting her 
safely to Wheeling. It is said, with probable truth, that 

this was the last slave ever 
returned to the South, un- 
der the fugitive slave law. 9 
The excitement attend- 
ing this case, had hardly 
died away before the peo- 
ple were aroused to new 
fervor by a visit, on Febru- 
ary 15, of President-elect 
Lincoln, who was en route 
to Washington, to be inau- 
gurated to the office of Pres- 
ident. His reception was 
enthusiastic, thirty thou- 
sand and more people turn- 




SOLDIERS MONUMENT IN WOODLAND 
CEMETERY. 



mg out m a storm to meet 
him ; a great procession es- 
corted him to his hotel, 
while business blocks and 
residences were covered 
with' flags, and other patriotic insignia. 

When the call for aid came from this same President, 

9 The law-abiding spirit in which the anti-slavery people of Cleveland 
accepted the decision of the law, is well shown in the remarks made by 
Judge R. P. Spalding, when he saw that the surrender of the girl was in- 
evitable. Said he : "I am constrained to say that, according to the law 
of slavery, the colored girl Lucy does owe service to William S. Goshorn, 
of Virginia. Nothing now remains that may impede the performance of 
your painful duty, sir, unless I may be permitted to trespass a little further 
upon your indulgence, and say to this assemblage, we are this day offering 
to the majesty of constitutional law, a homage that takes with it a virtual 
surrender of the finest feelings of our nature ; the vanquishing of many of 
our strictest resolutions; the mortification of a free man's pride, and, I al- 
most said, the contraventions of a Christian's duty to his God. While we 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. jSg 



some weeks later, the answer, so far as Cleveland was 
concerned, was immediate and effective. A mass meet- 
ing was called in Melodeon Hall. General Jabez Fitch, 
General John Crowell, Hon. R. P. Spalding, and Hon. 
D. K. Cartter spoke. Two days later, the Grays departed, 
in answer to the President's call for men. Camp Taylor 
was established, and the city took on a military air. On 
May 3rd, a conference of the governors of Ohio, Pennsylva- 
nia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana was held at the An- 
gier House, to concert measures for the defense of their 
country. On the 6th of the same month, the Seventh Regi- 
ment departed; on the 14th, the Lincoln Guards were or- 
ganized; in November, the Forty-first Regiment marched 
away with flying colors. The Home Guards were organ- 
ized; clerks, merchants, bankers, laborers, all urged by 
the same patriotic impulse, drilled side by side, that they 
might be ready, if the need arose. 

To write a history of the soldiers, the companies, the 
regiments, that Cleveland sent into the field, would more 
than fill a volume of this size. To tell that story in a few 
pages, would be unjust, and so far inadequate that it were 
better unattempted. The city and her sons covered them- 
selves with glory, upon nearly every field where our flag 
was carried ; hundreds of them gave up their lives in their 
country's defense; many names that Cleveland will long 
remember, were written upon the tablet of fame. The 
enduring monument that has been erected, in the very 
heart of our city, is but a feeble reminder of the love and 
gratitude in which these brave sons of Cuyahoga are 
held. 10 

do this, in the City of Cleveland, in the Connecticut Western Reserve, and 
permit this poor piece of humanity to be taken, peaceably, through our 
streets, and upon our railways, back to the land of bondage, will not the 
frantic South stay its parricidal hand? Will not our compromising Legisla- 
ture cry: Hold, enough!" 

10 That " roll of honor " has been at last recorded in an enduring form. 
Those who would read it in its entirety, are referred to the following work 
for detail: " History of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Mon- 
ument," by William J. Gleason: published by the Monument Commission, 



S go THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Not alone by the sending of her sons to the front, did 
Cleveland show her patriotism. In many ways, those at 
home gave of their labor and substance to carry on the 
good work for the Union. The women of Cleveland were 
the first to make use of such opportunities as presented 
themselves. Five days after the call for troops, on April 
20th, they assembled to offer their services, wherever they 
could be used. The Ladies' Aid Society was organized. 
It soon became the head and front for work of this char- 
acter, through all this section, and was known as the Sol- 
diers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio. Subordinate socie- 
ties were organized in all directions. By the ist of July, 
1862, three hundred and twenty-five societies had been 




HOSPITAL CAMP, CLEVELAND. 

organized as its branches. Contributions poured in from 
all directions, and a steady stream was sent southward, for 
the help and comfort of the soldiers in the field. In Feb- 
ruary, 1864, the Northern Ohio Sanitary Fair was organ- 
ized under the management of the society. An immense 
structure was built on the Public Square, and so success- 
fully was the fair managed that the receipts were about 
one hundred thousand dollars, with not over one-fourth of 
that sum for expenses. The work was carried on until 

Cleveland, 1894. In this work, Major Gleason has most patriotically and 
ably done for the Cuyahoga soldier and sailor that which has never been 
done before ; that no one need attempt again. Most of the regiments rep- 
resented have published histories of their own, from time to time, which 
can be found on the shelves of the Western Reserve Historical Society. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



the end of the war. with a vigor and patriotism that shed 

honor, for all time, upon those who were connected there- 
with. The city naturally felt the effects of the war, in 
common with all the country, but met with no great re- 
verse or disaster because of it. Municipal and business 

affairs were carried on as of old. 

Attention should now be turned to various matters of 
general interest. The discovery of oil in Western Penn- 
sylvania attracted the attention of Cleveland speculators 
and capitalists, and before long a number of small re- 
fineries were in operation in this city. Among them 
was a small firm, formed in 1861, by John D. Rocke- 
feller and Henry M. Flagler, which grew by push and 
absorption of its rivals until 1870, when a stock company 
was formed, under the name of the Standard Oil Com- 
pany, which, made this city its headquarters, and before 
long controlled the oil trade of the country. 11 

The size and importance of the city now demanded that 
a better and more adequate fire department must be fur- 
nished, as the old volunteer system had been far outgrown. 
It was decided by the City Council, in 1863, to reorganize 

11 The original board of directors of this now mighty corporation, with 
a capital stock of S97, 500,000, was composed of John D. Rockefeller, Henry 
M. Flagler, Samuel Andrews, Stephen V. Harkness, and William Rocke- 
feller. Its capital was fixed at Si, 000, 000, in shares of one hundred dol- 
lars each. Some idea of the extent to which the oil interests had grown, 
even as early as 1SS4, may be gained from a glance at the Board of Trade 
report for that year, where these figures may be found. The capital 
invested in the manufacture of oil in Cleveland was S27.395.746. There 
were S6 establishments, employing 9,669 hands, whose aggregate wages 
amounted to $4,381,572. The establishments used raw material, to the 
value of 834,999,101. The cost of the crude petroleum, which amounted 
to 731,533,127 gallons, was S16, 340,581; while 811,618,307 was paid out 
for barrels, 82,792,997 for tin cans, 8906,911 for cases, and 8645,412 for 
bungs, paint, glue, etc. The balance of the cost on account of raw ma- 
terial, was for fuel and chemicals. The aggregate value of the products 
obtained from crude petroleum was 843,705,218; of which sum illumina- 
ting oils furnished 836,839,613. The remaining S6,S65,6o5 was divided 
among other products. " It is estimated," says the report, "that 3,179,- 
263 barrels of crude oil were refined here during the past year, 75 per 
cent, of which was made into refined oil, 15 per cent, into gasoline, 
naphtha and kindred products, and 7 per cent, into lubricating oil, paraf- 
fine, etc. The other three per cent, was the loss in the refining process." 



392 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the department and place it upon a paid basis. The first 
Council Committee on Fire and Water was appointed in 
January of that year, and consisted of J. D. Palmer, J. J. 
Benton and William Meyer. During April, an ordinance 
was passed, creating a paid steam fire department. Mean- 
while, three steamers had been bought, the first of which 
had been placed in service December 17, 1862 ; two others 
in February, 1863, while a fourth was purchased in June 
of the same year. The chief engineer at this time was 
James A. Craw. The steamers were honored with the fol- 
lowing appellations: No. 1, I. U. Masters; No. 2, J. J. 
Benton; No. 3, William Meyer; No. 4, J. D. Palmer. Ma- 
zeppa Hook and Ladder No. 1. In 1864, another steamer 
(N. P. Payne) was added, and the three remaining volun- 
teer companies disbanded. By the spring of 1865, the 
city was in possession of five fully-equipped engine com- 
panies, with hose reels attached to each, and one hook 
and ladder truck. The companies were located as fol- 
lows: No. 1, Frankfort street; No. 2, Champlain street; 
No. 3, Huntington street; No. 4, Church street; No. 5, 
Phelps street; Hook and Ladder with No. 1, on Frank- 
fort street. The entire force numbered fifty-three men, 
one chie^f engineer, five captains, five engineers, five fire- 
men, eleven drivers, twenty-five pipemen and one tiller- 
man. 

Step by step the efficiency of the department was in- 
creased. Fire hydrants and reservoirs increased in num- 
ber. A fire alarm telegraph service was added in 1864. 
Little further was done in way of fire legislation until 
1867, when the City Council passed an ordinance which 
created the offices of first and second assistant engineers. 
The steamer " James Hill" was added in the same year, 
and other engines, companies, and engine houses were 
created, from time to time, as the growth of the city ren- 
dered necessary. In 1872, a Protection Company was 
added to the service, with four men, and a wagon fully 
equipped with canvas covers, etc., to be used for the pro- 
tection of goods and household furniture. In 1864, James 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Hill became chief of the department; he was removed in 

1S74. John A. Bennett, first assistant chief, was then 
promoted to chief, and he, in turn, was succeeded by 

James W. Dickinson, then assistant, in 1880. In 1886, 
Cleveland's first fire-boat, the "Joseph L. Weatherly," 

was built and placed in service upon the river. 1 '"' 

By an act of the Legislature, passed on April 29, 1873, 
the management of the department passed into the hands 
of a Board of Fire Commissioners, composed of five mem- 
bers, to hold for a term of five years. This was amended 
in March, 1874, and the board made to consist of the 
mayor of the city, the chairman of the City Council Com- 
mittee on Fire and Water, and three citizens, who should 
be nominated by the mayor, with the approval of the 
Council. The first board consisted of Charles A. Otis, 
mayor; A. T. Van Tassel, chairman of the Council Com- 
mittee; H. D. Coffinberry. W. H. Hayward, and H. W. 
Luetkemeyer. Under the changes made in the form of 
municipal government — to be related under a later date — 
the management of the department passed into the hands 
of a director of fire service. The extent to which the 
department has grown, may be understood from the fol- 
lowing figures, taken from the annual report of the de- 
partment, made in the beginning of 1895, for the preced- 
ing year : The loss from fires during the year amounted 
to $592,714.90, Avhich was over one million less than in 
1892, the reduction being largely due to the increase in 
the number of engine houses. The department answered 
1,000 alarms. Xew buildings had been erected in the 
city to the number of 2,622, at an estimated cost of 
§4,171,690. During 1894. there had been added to the 
service three new hook and ladder companies, four new 
engine companies, one water tower, and the new fire-boat 

12 For some of the facts in the above, the writer is under obligations to 
the " Fire Service of Cleveland," published in iSSg, by the Firemen's Re- 
lief Association. The detailed history of most of the fires of Cleveland, 
-with losses, etc., is there furnished, with much other valuable information, 
for which room can hardly be found in this work. As a work of reference, 
it is of no small value. 



394 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

"John H. Farley." The fire boat "J. L. Weatherly," 
heretofore described, had been replaced by a new boat, 
' The Clevelander. " There were 352 men employed by 
the department proper, with 8 additional serving as build- 
ing inspectors, electrician, etc. The apparatus in actual 
service consisted of 20 steam fire engines, one fire-boat, 
twenty-two hose wagons, two hose carriages, nine hook 
and ladder trucks, one aerial ladder, one water tower, 
four two- wheeled chemical engines, seven officers' bug- 
gies, one director's buggy, one boiler inspector's two- 
wheeled cart, two telegraph wagons, one telegraph pole 
truck, eighteen exercise wagons, and three delivery wag- 
ons. These figures suggest that Cleveland has, indeed, 
traveled a long distance, in the way of fire service improve- 
ment, since those early days when the irate taxpayers 
criticised the expenditure of a few hundred dollars, for 
the purchase of one little hand-engine. 

Returning once more to the general narrative, we find 
the spring of 1865 bringing to Cleveland, as to the entire 
land, a great joy and a great sorrow — the triumphant end 
of the war, and the martyrdom of Abraham Lincoln. 

The wild joy over the victory was tempered with sor- 
row for the loss; and when the body of Lincoln, on its 
last homeward journey, lay in state in the city, all classes 
united to do honor to his memory, and the whole city 
draped itself in mourning, and gave no thought to pleasure 
or business, until the sacred form had been carried on to 
its last resting place. 

The growing importance of Cleveland, as a manufactur- 
ing point and center of distribution, was emphasized by 
the Board of Trade, in 1866, in the publication, for the 
first time, of anything like a detailed statement of the 
amount of business done here in any one year. The fig- 
ures here given for 1865 are taken from that work, 13 and 
their presentation at this point seems especially pertinent, 

13 " Annual Statement of the Trade, Commerce, and Manufactures of 
the City of Cleveland, for the year 1865." Reported to the Board of 
Trade, by J. D. Pickands. Cleveland, 1866. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 
as the real revival after the war had just commenced, and 

Cleveland was placing her foot <>n that ladder of success- 
ful manufacturing that has carried her up to such wonder- 
ful things. 

Taking up the general results, as presented in these re- 
ports, we find that the amount of coal shipped to this 
market during the five preceding years had varied from 
400,000 to 900,000 tons; the total for 1865 was 465,550 
tons. The aggregate value of the iron ore trade for the 
year was S 1 , 1 79,200. Of pig iron and scrap, there were sold 
and used here about 23,000 tons, of a value of $1,051,000. 
Of pig iron controlled and sold by Cleveland parties, but 
not coming into this market, the amount was about 29,000, 
of a value of $1,450,000. Of manufactured wrought iron, 
the aggregate sales of railroad iron, bar, plate, hoop, 
sheet, spikes, nails, etc., were over $6,000,000, of which 
a large portion was manufactured here. There were 
then, in or near the city (Newbnrg had not been annexed), 
two blast furnaces, six rolling mills, tivo forges, eight 
foundries, three spike, nail, rivet, nut and washer facto- 
ries, employing three thousand hands, and with an aggre- 
gate capital of some three million dollars. Their product 
for 1865 was as follows: 20,510 tons railroad iron, 7,925 
tons merchant iron, 2,250 tons forgings, 705 tons boiler 
and tank iron, 4,627 tons nuts, washers, rivets, nails, 
spikes and bolts; 8,500 tons gas and water pipe, car 
wheels, etc. In lumber, total feet received, 84,038,160; 
shingles, 54,744,850; lath, 14,153,000; cedar posts, 50,000. 
The total amount of business in the hide and leather 
trade for the year reached about a million and a half of 
dollars. There were engaged in the trade five wholesale 
hide and leather dealers, about as many more dealing ex- 
clusively in hides; three tanneries, and three sheepskin 
factories. There were some thirty established refineries 
of crude petroleum, with an aggregate capital of over 
$1,500,000, and employing over three hundred workmen. 
Aggregate capacity, 1,800 to 2,000 barrels per 24 hours; 
total value of petroleum products, not less than $4,500,- 



396 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

ooo. The wholesale dry-goods trade was set down " in 
millions," but no figures are given. Boot and shoe sales, 
$1,250,000. Manufactures and sale of clothing, from two 
and a half to three million dollars. Cattle packed, 25,300 
head; hogs, 18,850. Near ten million pounds of wool 
were received. The banking interests were represented 
by a capital of over $2,250,000, with an average circula- 
tion of $1,750,000, and average deposits of $3,700,000. 
Over sixty steam engines were turned out, 40 boilers, 
and as many stills for oil. The general value, in these 
and allied lines, reached a half million dollars. The 
machine car shops used up stock to the value of $700,000. 
The manufacture of railroad cars reached a value of half 
a million dollars. Stoves to the number of 18,000 were 
made. Agricultural implements to the value of $350,000 
were produced. Wooden ware, value of stock, $225,000; 
planing mills, $250,000; 200,000 barrels made ; 15,500,000 
shingles made; furniture, $600,000; carriage making, 
$200,000; musical instruments, $100,000; 1,500 tons of 
refined copper were produced ; lamps, lanterns, etc., 
made, $25,000 ; paper, $215,000 ; woolens, $350,000 ; 
marble and stone works, $400,000; 600 tons of white lead 
made; 50,000 gallons of lard oil made; 547,000 pounds of 
stearine candles; 212,000 barrels of flour; cigars, a prod- 
uct valued at $600,000; 43,000,000 feet of gas were pro- 
duced, and 90,000 bushels of coke; malting and brewing 
business, $800,000; 57 iron and wood bridges were built, 
at a cost of $505,000; lightning rods sold to the value of 
$131,000; burr mill stones, $75,000; 20,000 kegs of powder 
made; 7,000,000 bricks made; hats and caps, $50,000. 
Estimates upon some other lines of business, upon which 
exact figures could not be obtained, were added, as fol- 
lows: Wines and liquors, $2,098,600; groceries, $4,840,- 
000; hardware, $1,417,000; carpets, $230,000; crockery 
and glassware, $610,000; furniture, $600,000; jewelry, 
$375,000; books, etc, $800,000; harness and trunks, 
$200,000; ship stores, $200,000; sewing machines, $250,- 
000; shipbuilding, $300,000; drugs, $913,000; railroad 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



397 



receipts, ^10,500,000 ; telegraph and express receipts, 

$600,000; miscellaneous business, $5 1 ,000,000. 1t 

This very gratifying sum mar)' of the business of Cleve- 
land for [865, proves that the city had been fairly set upon 
the highway of commercial and manufacturing impor- 
tance. These results speak well for a community that 
had begun to take on the first forms of villagehood but 
fifty years before, and justify the wisdom of those who 
selected the mouth 
of the Cuyahoga 
River as the place 
upon which to plant 
the capital of the 
Reserve. 

Perhaps the main 
event of local impor- 
tance, of 1866, was 
the establishment of 
the metropolitan po- 
lice system. A law 
passed by the Ohio 
Legislature, at its 
previous session, 
went into effect on 
May 1 st of that year. 
Under its provisions, 
the power which be- 
fore had been lodged in the hands of the mayor and city 
marshal, with the management of the funds in the City 

14 The following comment from the " Herald," in September, 1865, will 
show how the situation was viewed from the home standpoint : ' ' Cleve- 
land now stands confessedly at the head of all places on the chain of lakes, 
as a shipbuilding port. Her proximity to the forests of Michigan and 
Canada affords opportunity for the selection of the choicest timber, while 
the superior material and construction of the iron manufacturers of the 
city give an advantage. Cleveland has the monopoly of propeller build- 
ing, its steam tugs are the finest on the lakes, whilst Cleveland-built sail- 
ing vessels not only outnumber all other vessels on the chain of lakes, 
but are found on the Atlantic Coast, in English waters, up the Mediter- 
ranean, and in the Baltic." 




OLD CENTRAL POLICE STATION. 



3 g8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. . 

Council, passed to a Board of Police Commissioners, con- 
sisting of the mayor and four others, appointed bv the 
governor of the State. This board was to have charge of 
all police matters. Police officers were to hold office dur- 
ing good behavior, and other reforms were inaugurated. 
The force at this time numbered fifty, and the expendi- 
tures for the year were 85 1 .7 10. The first board consisted 
of H. M. Chapin, mayor: W. P. Fogg, James Barnett. 
Philo Chamberlain, and Xelson Purdy. The law was so 
changed, in 1872, that the board members were elected di- 
rectly by the people, and the first commissioners under 
this system Avere John M. Sterling, Jr., Jere E. Robin- 
son, George Saal.and J. C. Schenck. A new station house 
on Champlain street had been erected in 1864. 15 

Another notable event of 1866, was the opening, in No- 
vember, of the new Union Passenger Depot, on the lake 
front, at the foot of Water and Bank streets. The occa- 
sion was marked by a banquet given by the railroads own- 
ing and using this great and needed structure. These 
were the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati : the Cleve- 
land & Pittsburg ; the Cleveland & Toledo ; and the 
Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula railroads. The de- 
pot was at that time regarded as one of the largest and 
best appointed in the country, being constructed entirely 
of stone and iron, and measuring 603 feet in length and 
108 feet in width. 1 ' 5 

15 Like the fire department, the police service of Cleveland has kept pace 
with the general growth. On January ist, 1895, it was shown in the an- 
nual reports that the expenditures for the preceding year amounted to 
S491.571.S6; a new central police station had been completed ; the force 
was composed of 317 members; there had been 9,751 arrests during the 
year. 

u The following is from the report for 1S66, of L. M. Hubby, president of 
the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati line: " The new passenger depot 
at Cleveland, costing some S475,ooo, and in which this company has one- 
fourth interest, was so far completed as to be opened for use on the 12th 
day of November last. . . Its erection was indispensable, as the 

old depot, being erected, over the waters of the lake, upon piles, from gen- 
eral decay had become unsafe for the passage onto it of heavy locomotives 
and trains of cars loaded with passengers." 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



399 



Two great institutions of Cleveland, the Public Library, 
and the Western Reserve Historical Society, may both be 
said to have had their inception in the year now reached. 

Of the last-named, it also may be said that the plan of or- 
ganization was first suggested in 1866, by Hon. Charles C. 
Baldwin, who was then viee-president of the Cleveland 
Library Assoeiation. On the evening of April 11, [867, 
a meeting was held in the rooms of the above-named as- 
sociation, at which were present Charles Whittlesey, 
Joseph Perkins, John Barr, H. A. Smith, Charles C. Bald- 
win and Alfred T. Goodman. The records of that gath- 
ering say: "The object of the meeting thus assembled 
was to take steps toward the formation of a historical so- 
ciety in the City of Cleveland. The meeting was not or- 
ganized in a formal way, but Colonel Whittlesey acted as 
chairman. A discussion was held as to the name the as- 
sociation should take, the following being finally adopted, 
viz. : The Reserve Historical Department of the Cleve- 
land Library Association." 

On due authorization from the Cleveland Library Asso- 
ciation, a historical section was established on May 28, 
1867, in accordance with the following, signed by the req- 
uisite number of members: "The undersigned members 
of the Cleveland Library Association hereby associate 
ourselves as a department of history and its kindred sub- 
jects, in accordance with the provisions of its amended 
constitution, and agree to proceed immediately to organize 
said department by adopting the proper rules and regula- 
tions, and the appointment of officers." The names 
signed to this agreement were as follows: M. B. Scott, 
A. T. Goodman, Peter Thatcher, W. N. Hudson, J. D. 
Cleveland, George Willey, E. R. Perkins, John H. Sar- 
gent, W. P. Fogg, George R. Tuttle, Samuel Stark- 
weather, J. C. Buell, Henry A. Smith, C. W. Sack- 
rider, J. H. A. Bone, Joseph Perkins, A. K. Spencer, 
H. B. Tuttle, C. C. Baldwin, T. R. Chase, Charles Whit- 
tlesey. 

The following officers were chosen, at a meeting held 



400 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



some days later : President \ Charles Whittlesey 11 : / r ice-Presi- 
dent, M. B. Scott; Secretary^ J. C. Buell; Treasurer, A. K. 
Spencer; ex officio Curators for one year ', Peter Thatcher, A. 
K. Spencer, Amos Townsend; Curators for otic year, J. C. 
Buell, H. A. Smith; Curators for two years ', C. C. Baldwin, 
M. B. Scott; Curators for three years ', Joseph Perkins, Charles 
Whittlesey. The following was then adopted: ''This 

department shall 
be known as the 
Western Reserve 
Historical Society, 
the principal ob- 
ject of which shall 
be to discover, 
procure and pre- 
serve whatever re- 
lates to the his- 
tory, biography, 
genealogy, antiq- 
uities and statis- 

J V *_ J tics connected with 

TZ I ^3-^ -/ ■ the City of Cleve- 

land and the West- 
ern Reserve, and 
generally what re- 
lates to the history 
of Ohio and the 
Great West." 

In 1868, Mr. 
Buell tendered his 
resignation as sec- 
retary, and Mr. Baldwin was elected. Rooms were engaged 
in the Savings Bank Building, on the Public Square, and 

17 Charles Whittlesey was born in Southington, Conn., on October 4th, 
1S0S. He was brought by his parents to Tallmadge, Ohio, in 1S13. He 
received an education in the common schools, and at an academy, and in 
1S27 became a cadet at West Point, from which he graduated in 1S31. 
He served in the Black Hawk War, and also tendered his service to the 
government during the Seminole and Mexican wars. He opened a law 




WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY BUILDING. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. foi 



the work described in the above resolution was earnestly 
and vigorously entered upon. The society long since 
took its place as one of the great historical organizations 
of the country. Its stated publications are ranked among 
those of the highest value. It now occupies, and owns, 
the entire building in which it was once a tenant, and its 
possessions, in its line of relics and historical material, are 
valuable beyond price. It has been enriched, again and 
again, by the donations of generous friends, and under 
the direction of such men as Charles Whittlesey, Charles 
C. Baldwin and Alfred T. Goodman, has grown to be an 
authority and a power in the domains of original historic 
research. 18 

The Cleveland Public Library, which had its real origin 
near the same time as this great sister organization, was 
established by the Board of Education, under the provis- 
ions of a legislative statute passed in March, 1867, au- 
thorizing the levy of a tax of one-tenth of a mill, for 
library purposes. The nucleus of the library was a col- 
lection of some two thousand books belonging to the 
public school library, and kept in the East High School 
building. 

A room was engaged on the third floor of the Northrop 
& Harrington Block, Superior street, in September, 1868, 
and fitted up for library purposes. It was opened to the 

office in Cleveland; was part owner of the " Whig and Herald;" became 
assistant geologist of Ohio. In this and like capacities, he gave a public 
service of inestimable value. He offered his service to his country in 1861 ; 
and resigned in 1S62 because of ill-health. As a writer upon historical 
and scientific subjects, he added many valuable contributions to the litera- 
ture of the West, while his service as president of the historical society 
above-named was of an enduring and valuable character. He died on 
October iSth, 1SS6. An appreciative memorial of Colonel Whittlesey, 
from the pen of Judge Charles C. Baldwin, may be found in Tract Xo. 6S, 
Western Reserve Historical Society. 

18 The full history of this great society may be found in Vol. Ill, Tract 
Xo. 74, p. 123, of the publications of the Western Reserve Historical Soci- 
ety, in a sketch written by D. W. Manchester, entitled: " Historical Sketch 
of the Western Reserve Historical Society. ' ' A list of some of the Society's 
most important possessions is there given. 



4 o2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

public on February 17, 1869, and formally dedicated in 
the evening of the same day. An address was delivered 
by E. R. Perkins, president of the Board of Education, 
and fitting remarks were made by Rev. Anson Smyth, H. 
S. Stevens, Mayor Stephen Buhrer, and W. H. Price. 

The Library had been fitted up under the direction of 
L. M. Oviatt, who had been chosen librarian. On the 
day following the dedication, it was opened for the issuing 
of books, and from that time up to August 31st, nearly 
four thousand members were registered. In 1873, the Li- 
brary was removed to the Clark Block, just west of its 
original location. In 1875, Mr. Oviatt was compelled to 
resign, because of failing health, and was succeeded by I. 
L. Beardsley, who had an extensive knowledge of books, 
and no small business experience. A second removal 
occurred, this time to the new City Hall. On the com- 
pletion of the new Central High School building, it was 
once more removed, in April, 1879, to its present location, 
in the old High School building on Euclid avenue, occu- 
pying the second and third floors. In 1884, Mr. Beards- 
ley resigned, and was succeeded by William H. Brett, who 
has since ably and successfully occupied that important 
position. 

For some three years after its establishment, the Li- 
brary was directly under the control of the Board of Edu- 
cation. In accordance with the provisions of an act, passed 
by the Legislature in April, 1867, the Board of Education, 
on October 2, 1871, elected a Board of Library Managers, 
which continued in control of the Library until July, 
1873, when four of its members resigned. The Board of. 
Education did not fill the vacancies, but re-assumed direct 
control. 

On April 8, 1878, an act was passed by the General 
Assembly, authorizing the Board of Education to elect a 
Library Committee, of not less than three nor more than 
seven members, not of their own number, who should 
serve for two years, and in whose hands should be placed 
the control of the library, with the exception of fixing 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 403 



the salaries. On April t8, [883, an act was passed chang- 
ing the designation from School to Public- Library, and 

by other measure, near the same time, the entire control 
was placed in the hands of the committee. The name 
committee was also changed to Public Library Board, and 
by another measure, passed April 28, 1886, the number of 
members was fixed at seven, each of whom was to serve 
three years, and all of whom were elected by the Board 
of Education. The first president of the Library Board 
was Sherlock J. Andrews, while his successors to date 
have been Rev. John W. Brown, General M. D. Leggett, 
John G. White, Dr. H. C. Brainerd, Henry W. S. Wood, 
and John C. Hutchins. 19 

Brief mention may be made of a number of other or- 
ganizations, of an educational or benevolent order, that 
found their origin in these prolific years of expansion and 
growth. The Cleveland Bethel Union was incorporated 
in 1867, for the support of mission work, and for the main- 
tenance of a boarding home for seamen and others in 
need. In 1868, a building at the corner of Superior and 
Spring streets was purchased , and the work has since been 
carried on therein, with results of a most gratifying char- 
acter. In 1873, the relief work which had at first been 
extended only to the lower wards, was made to embrace 
the whole city. As an outgrowth of this work, the So- 
ciety for Organizing Charity was created, in 1882, for 
the purpose of carrying on such investigations as would 
prevent imposition, and decrease pauperism. In 1886, 
this society and the Bethel united in one organization, 
under the name of the Bethel Associated Charities, the 

19 A very entertaining history of this institution may be found in the 
" Magazine of Western History," Vol. VII, p. 55, from the pen of W. H. 
Brett, the present librarian. It is entitled: " The Rise and Growth of the 
Cleveland Public Library. ' ' An examination of the annual report of that 
institution, for the year ending August 31st, 1895, furnishes some suggest- 
ive figures, as to its growth and present extended usefulness. Books on 
hand, 96,921. Issued from, the main and branch libraries, 595, 169 volumes. 
Visitors to the reference rooms, 105,854. Books consulted, 78,923. Branch 
libraries, 3 — one on Pearl Street ; one on Miles Avenue ; one on Woodland 
Avenue. Number of employees, 37. 



4 o 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

work being continued along the lines so successfully fol- 
lowed before. 

In 1867, a bankruptcy court was instituted in Cleveland, 
under the authority of the third United States bankruptcy 
law, and Myron R. Keith was appointed registrar for the 
Northern District of Ohio, which office he held until the 
repeal of the law, in 1878. The Women's Christian As- 
sociation was organized in 1868, in response to a call from 
H. T. Miller, who believed that the women of Cleveland 
could be organized for combined Christian work, along the 
lines followed by the Young Men's Christian Association. 
The response was general, the association came into be- 
ing, and was duly incorporated. Work in the mission field 
commenced immediately, and a small boarding home for 
young working women was established. In 1869, Still- 
man Witt gave the association a building on Walnut 
street, and this work in an enlarged form was carried on 
therein. The Retreat for the reclamation of fallen 
women was founded, and by the generosity of Joseph Per- 
kins 20 and Leonard Case, a large structure, to be used as a 
home for such women, was erected on St. Clair street. A 
hospital and nursery department were added in 1883, also 
by donation from Mr. Perkins. Other lines of work con- 
ducted by the association are the Home for Aged Women, 
on Kennard street; the Educational and Industrial Union, 
the Young Ladies' Branch ; the Home for Incurable 
Women and Children, etc. Each of these branches, with- 

20 Were a list to be made of the men who have been most active in con- 
nection with charitable and reformatory work in Cleveland, the name of 
Joseph Perkins would stand at or very near the head. He was the son of 
General Simon Perkins, whose public record has been already referred to. 
He was born at Warren, Ohio, on July 5th, 1819. On the death of his 
father, great business responsibilities fell upon him. He removed to 
Cleveland, and in 1853 became president of the Bank of Commerce. From 
that time onward, he was actively, or through his capital, connected with 
many of the banking, railroad, and other business organizations of the 
city. His whole life was devoted to many forms of charitable labor — in 
the church, the temperance cause, the care of homeless children, the re- 
form of the fallen, the education of the masses ; and his money went in 
unstinted measure, wherever his heart was enlisted. Mr. Perkins died at 
Saratoga, New York, on August 26th, 1885. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. p>5 



in its own lines, has rendered great service to the needy 

and the destitute. 

The Cleveland City Hospital commenced its work in 
[869, in a small frame building on Wlllson street. The 
value of its work was soon recognized, and in 1S75 a 
lease of the Marine Hospital and grounds was secured, 
from, the United States Government, and the hospital was 
loeated therein. On May 10, 1876, the hospital managers 
were incorporated, the officers and incorporators being as 
follows: President, Joseph Perkins; Clerk, E. C. Rouse; 
Trustees, M. B. Scott, George B. Stanley, Henry Chisholm, 
William B. Castle, W. J. Boardman, H. C. Blossom, and 
G. W. Whitney. In December, 1869, the Cleveland Law 
Library Association was organized, and incorporated in 
1870. Its purpose was the creation of a law library for 
the use of the county bar, and it long since ranked among 
the leading associations of its kind. The Kirtland So- 
ciety of Natural Science also was organized in 1869, under 
the leadership of Dr. Jared P. Kirtland, in whose honor 
it was named. In 1870, it became a department of the 
Cleveland Library Association. 

An effort had been made to secure for Cleveland, from 
the State Board of Agriculture, the Ohio State Fair of 
1870-71, but the request was met by a refusal. This de- 
cision, no doubt, had much to do with Cleveland's deter- 
mination to have a permanent fair of her own. The ques- 
tion w r as agitated, and at a meeting of citizens, it was 
determined to form the Northern Ohio Fair Association, 
which was duly incorporated, on February 26, 1870, by 
the following gentlemen: Amasa Stone, J. H. Wade, J. 
P. Robison, Worthy S. Streator, S. D. Harris, Azariah 
Everett, Amos Townsend, William Bingham, Henry Not- 
tingham, David A. Dangler, William Collins, Oscar A. 
Childs, Lester L. Hickox, Oliver H. Payne, Alton Pope 
and Waldo A. Fisher. The capital stock was fixed at 
$300,000. The purpose of the association was declared, in 
its charter, to be the promotion of agriculture, horticulture, 
and the mechanic arts, in the northern sections of Ohio. 



4 o6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Grounds containing eighty-seven acres were purchased 
near the lake shore, to the east of the city, and fair build- 
ings were erected. The first fair was opened on October 
4, 1870, and continued for three days. These fairs were 
continued, from year to year, until finally the enterprise 
was wound up, in the winter of 1880-81, because the 
financial results were not such as to justify its further 
continuance. 

As an outgrowth of these gatherings, there grew the 
Cleveland Horticultural Society, the Northern Ohio Poul- 
try Association, and the Cleveland Club. The organiza- 
tion last-named was composed of a portion of the Northern 
Ohio Fair Association directory, and was formed in 1871, 
for the purpose of annually holding trotting and racing 
meetings at the fair grounds. 

At the head of the social organizations of Cleveland 
stands the Union Club, which was organized at a meeting 
of well-known citizens, on September 25, 1872. It was 
incorporated, as the charter declared, for "physical train- 
ing and education." The first permanent officers were: 
President, William Bingham ; First Vice-President, Henry B. 
Payne; Second Vice-President, W. J. Boardman ; Secretary, 
C. P. Leland; Corresponding Secretary, Waldemar Otis; 
Treasurer, George E. Armstrong. The club purchased a 
handsome and commodious building on Euclid avenue, 
near Erie street, which it has since occupied. It is one 
of the most important social organizations of the West, 
and in its membership and measures has fully sustained 
the high mark set in the beginning. 

The Cleveland Bar Association came into being in 
March, 1873. Its purpose was declared to be the main- 
tenance of "the honor and dignity of the profession of the 
law, to cultivate social intercourse and acquaintance 
among the members of the bar, to increase our usefulness 
in aiding the administration of justice, and in promoting 
legal and judicial reform." The association has clearly 
lived up to this high standard. The first officers were: 
President, S. J. Andrews; Vice-Presidents, James Mason, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 407 



John W. Heislev and |ohn C. (ininnis; Recording Secretary, 
Virgil P. Kline; Corresponding Secretary •, L. R. Critchfield; 

Treasurer, (i . M. Barber. 

The Cuyahoga County Medical Society was formed in 
[873, by the amalgamation of two societies, known as the 
Cleveland Academy of Medicine, and the Pathological So- 
ciety. Its object, like that of its predecessors, was to 
increase the knowledge of its members, to bring them 
into more intimate social relations with each other, and to 
promote the improvement of the medical art. 

Returning again to 1868, and the general record, two 
events of marine importance present themselves. In the 
launch of the little steamer "J. K. White," in this year, 
the people of Cleveland saw the first iron ship built with- 
in their borders, suggestive of much that was to follow. 
The second event was the tragic loss of the steamer 
''Morning Star," the companion of the "R. N. Rice," on 
the Cleveland and Detroit line. She left Cleveland on 
the night of June 20th, and when off Black River, some 
thirty miles out, collided in the dark and storm with the 
bark ' ' Cortland. ' ' She began to sink immediately. Some 
of the passengers and crew saved themselves by clinging 
to floating pieces of wreckage, and were picked up by the 
: ' Rice," which came along two hours later. Captain 
Viger, and thirteen others, floated off on a portion of the 
upper cabin and were saved, but over a score of lives were 
lost. The sad news was received with wild excitement 
and grave apprehensions in Cleveland, as a number of her 
citizens were among the passengers on the ill-fated boat. 

Work upon the new and needed water works tunnel 
was commenced in 1869. Complaint had been heard, from 
time to time, ever since the construction of the water 
works, of the quality of the water, because of shore wash- 
ings, sewage, and the river outflow, and the authorities 
of the department decided to draw the supply from a 
point farther out in the lake. Surveys for a new tunnel 
were made in 1867, and in 1869 work was commenced by 
sinking a shaft on the shore, near the pumping station, 



408 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



to the depth of 6J 1 /, feet below the surface of the lake, and 
a tunnel five feet in diameter commenced from its bottom 
outward. In the meantime, a crib, having a diameter of 
87^ feet, was built, and on August 5, 1870, towed to a 
point 6,600 feet from the shore, and sunk in thirty-six 
feet of water. It was then loaded down with thousands 
of tons of stone. A lake shaft was then sunk beneath the 
center of the crib, to a depth of ninety feet below the sur- 
face of the water, and a tunnel started shoreward to meet 
the one coming from the other direction. Many difficul- 
ties in the way of quicksands, etc., were encountered, but 
on March 2, 1874, the work was completed, and water 

let in on the following day. 
The total cost was $320,- 
351.72. The crib was fitted 
up as a lighthouse and a 
house for its keeper. The 
quality of the city water was 
very greatly improved. 

The rapid growth of 
Cleveland, however, before 
long, demonstrated that new 
extensions and improvements 
of the water works were a 
matter of necessity. A sec- 
ond tunnel, connecting the 
crib with the shore, was successfully commenced, and com- 
pleted in 1890, giving two direct connections between the 
intake at the crib and the pumping station, the old one 
being five feet in diameter, and the new one seven feet. 
Still another step, in the direction of an improved serv- 
ice, was taken in the building of the new Fairmount res- 
ervoir, which was completed in 1885. The object sought 
was to obtain greater storage capacity, and better pressure 
for the larger part of the city. The old Kentucky street 
reservoir had a capacity of six million gallons, and main- 
tained a head of 158 feet above the lake, but this head 
was decreased somewhat in overcoming the friction in the 




MAYOR C. A. OTIS. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVFLAXD. 4 og 



supply pipes. Leading from the reservoir to the different 
parts ni the city. The greatest Length of the Fairmount 

reservoir is about 1,500 feet, and the greatest width 700 
feet. It is divided into two basins, by an embankment, 

one having a capacity of 47 million gallons, and the other 
of 33 million gallons. 

The site of this reservoir, on Fairmount street, in the 
extreme eastern portion of the city, was chosen as being 
the most suitable of all considered ; far from the city dirt 
and smoke, having the needed materials near at hand, and 
lying on a railroad line. When the works were originally 
built, all the water for the city was pumped directly into 
the Kentucky street reservoir, and from thence distributed 
to the consumer. As the demand increased, and addition- 
al pumps and mains became necessary, the water supply 
system was changed, the new pumps pumping directly 
into the mains, while the old ones still supplied the res- 
ervoir: All the mains connected at different points, and 
the pressure was regulated by the head of the water up 
on Kentucky street. When the new reservoir was being 
built, and a high service system established, to take water 
from the reservoir to supply the higher part of the city 
(pumping to an elevation of 325 feet), the Cornish engines 
were removed from the Division street pumping station 
to this high service station, and direct-acting pumps put 
in their places. The system of water supply at present is 
to pnmp directly into the mains supplying the city, and 
force the surplus only into the Fairmount reservoir. The 
Kentucky street reservoir, therefore, became useless, and 
was abandoned. 

Other improvements of an important character, in con- 
nection with the city's water works system, are now under 
consideration, involving an extension of the present main 
tunnel several miles into the lake ; the building of a new 
pumping station toward the east, and the digging of a new 
tunnel, a great intercepting sewer, and a thorough and 
scientific flushing of the Cuyahoga River. 

The laying of the foundations of a most beneficent or- 



4 io THE HISTORY OF CLE VELA XD. 

ganization must be noted among the events of 1873. On 
March 18th of that year, O. J. Hodge offered a resolution 
in the Citv Council, inviting all persons interested in the 
formation of a humane society to meet in the council 
chamber on the following Friday evening. This was 
adopted, and on the evening named there assembled about 
a dozen gentlemen. Mr. Hodge called the meeting to 
order, and explained the purposes for which it had been 
called, and then asked Earl Bill to occupy the chair. A 
committee on permanent organization was then appointed, 
consisting of O. J. Hodge, J. W, Fitch, and H. F. Bray- 
ton. The following names were subsequently added to 
the list: W. J. McKinnie, W. P. Fogg, C. B. Pettingill, 
H. C. Brock way, and Dr. E. Sterling. On the evening 
of March 27th, a constitution was reported, and on April 
4th, the following officers of this newly-formed Cleveland 
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were 
duly elected: President, General J. W. Fitch; Vice-Presi- 
dents \ James M. Hoyt, William Bingham, O. J. Hodge, 
John Tod, Earl Bill; Secretary, H. F. Brayton. 

The work of this great society has been continuous, and 
of incalculable benefit to two defenseless classes — dumb 
brutes and helpless children. Some ten or a dozen years 
ago, its scope was widened, so that helpless mothers and 
children could be brought under its protective influences. 
The name was then changed to the Humane Society. 
The good work of the organization still goes on.' 21 At the 

- 1 Two years previous to the taking of the step above described, looking 
to the formation of this society, Mr. Hodge had introduced in the City 
Council an ordinance to prevent and punish cruelty to dumb animals. This 
was passed on April 11, 1871, and was the first step taken by the Cleveland 
law-makers in that direction. As but little attention was paid to the law, 
the mayor embodied it in a proclamation, which was posted throughout 
the city. Being a member of the State Legislature about this time, Mr. 
Hodge introduced three bills, each intended for the better protection of 
children and dumb animals, all of which became laws. On March 10, 
1S74, he also called a meeting of prominent men, from various parts of 
the State, to be held at the Neil House in Columbus, and at that gather- 
ing, a State society was organized, with Gen. J. W. Fitch, of Cleveland, as 
president. 



THE HISTORY OF CLE T EI. A X D. 411 



twenty-third annual meeting, held on the evening of 
April I, 1896, it was shown that 638 complaints in be- 
half of children had been reported during the year, and 
that in most cases relief had been secured ; while the cases 
of six thousand and more in the animal department, had 
been attended to. The receipts were $4,670.98, and the 
disbursements about the same. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

AN ERA OF MANY IMPROVEMENTS. 

The importance of creating and maintaining proper har- 
bor facilities, was recognized in Cleveland at an early date, 
and the steps taken for the opening of a river channel, 
and protection of the lake front, in previous years, have 
already been recorded. The unprotected condition of the 
harbor, was always regarded as a source of danger, em- 
phasized by the narrowness of the river opening, and the 
difficulty of making port in a time of storm. No move- 
ment toward the construction of an artificial harbor of ref- 
uge, however, was made until 1870, when the City Coun- 
cil adopted resolutions in favor of the construction of 
such work by the general government, while a petition to 
that effect was circulated among the citizens. An appro- 
priation of three thousand dollars for a preliminary survey 
was made, and the engineers reported the cost at three 
million dollars — a figure so large that the committee on 
commerce reported adversely upon the measure. 

The matter was not dropped there, however, as R. T. 
Lyon, on January 16, 1873, offered resolutions in the Board 
of Trade, urging upon Congress the importance and neces- 
sity of such refuge, for the protection of vessels navigating 
the uncertain waters of Lake Erie. They were adopted, 
and a committee appointed to confer with the City Council 
and secure its co-operation. Hon. R. C. Parsons, 22 then 

22 Richard C. Parsons, whose public labors have been mentioned often in 
the foregoing pages, was born in New London, Conn., on October 10, 1826. 
He became a member of the Cleveland bar in 1851 ; has served as a mem- 
ber of the City Council, and State Legislature; was consul at Rio Janeiro; 
collector of internal revenue at Cleveland; and marshal of the United 
States Supreme Court. He was elected to Congress from the Cuyahoga 
district in 1872. The Cleveland breakwater is, in no small degree, a monu- 
ment to his zeal and energy. He became chief owner and editor of the 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 413 



the national representative from this district, by strenuous 

efforts, and good management, persuaded the government 
to another survey, which work was performed in 1874 by- 
Colonel Blount, of the United vStates Engineering Corps. 
He reported two plans — one for an anchorage of thirty 
acres, at a cost of five hundred thousand dollars, and the 
other for ninety acres, at a cost of twelve hundred thou- 
sand dollars. 

In the spring of 1875, Congress appropriated fifty thou- 
sand dollars for the commencement of the work, and re- 
ferred the question of size and other specifications to a 
corps of government engineers, who reported in favor of 
a harbor of two hundred acres, at a cost of eighteen hun- 
dred thousand dollars. This was adopted, and when 
Hon. H. B. Payne was in Congress, he secured fifty thou- 
sand dollars for a continuation of the work, and Hon. 
Amos Townsend had that increased by one hundred 
thousand. 

Work upon the west wing of the breakwater was com- 
menced in the fall of 1875, and completed in 1883. The 
structure commences at a point seven hundred feet west 
of the upper end of the old river bed, and runs about due 
north for 3,130 feet, to a depth of 28 feet. It then turns 
an angle and runs nearly parallel to the shore for 4,030 
feet, with a spur one hundred feet long on the north side of 
the lake arm, and two hundred feet from its eastern end. 

Experience showed that still greater precautionary 
measures were necessary, and it was decided that the har- 
bor to the eastward, would be sufficiently protected by ex- 
tending the east pier at the mouth of the river some four- 
teen hundred feet. The engineer in charge, however, 
recommended, in May, 1884, that this plan be changed, 
and that an arm of the breakwater be built to the east- 
ward, leaving an opening opposite the piers. This was 

"Cleveland Herald" in 1S76, and after retirement from that position 
served for a time as a national bank examiner. Mr. Parsons has made 
his mark as an orator and writer, and for several years past, has served as 
the efficient president of the Early Settlers' Association. 



4 i4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

approved by the department at Washington, and on 
August 5, 1886, Congress passed an act making the nec- 
essary appropriations for this improvement. The original 
plan contemplated an extension of about 3,600 feet alto- 
gether, but it was soon found that this would be insuffi- 
cient, and so the plan was enlarged, and additional appro- 
priations secured from Congress. The breakwater, under 
the latest plan, begins at a point on the prolongation of 
the lake arm of the western breakwater, and five hundred 
feet from it; extends eastward upon this line about 3,500 
feet, then inclines toward the shore and extends 2,000 
feet, in a depth of 26 feet of water, and having between 
its eastern end, and the curve of 14 feet depth of water, an 
entrance 2,300 feet wide. About 2,500 feet of this break- 
water had been completed up to the early summer of 1896. 

It may be added, in this connection, that it is only with- 
in a few years that Cleveland has awakened to the com- 
mercial importance of its lake front. Boats grew larger 
under the imperative demands of trade, but there was no 
corresponding increase, in the city's dockage, and accord- 
ingly many large interests — the iron ore trade of the Lake 
Superior region, for instance — were largely diverted to 
other lower-lake ports. The ill effects of such desertion 
were plainly manifest, and steps were taken to check it. 
In March, 1895, the Cuddy-Mullen Company began the 
construction of a dock of adequate size, just east of the 
river, in the outer harbor, inside the breakwater. It was 
finished April 1, 1896. It is 623 feet long, and 210 feet 
wide. Adjoining it, is the dock of the Pennsylvania Com- 
pany, of the same dimensions, which has just been finished. 
On this will be erected a passenger station and freight 
houses. 

The city has also started in to do its share toward de- 
veloping the lake front. Since December, 1894, it has 
been extending Erie street to the water's edge, and build- 
ing piers out into the lake. Already about five hundred 
feet have been constructed, and it is the city's intention to 
cmake thereby large and convenient dockage for excursion 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. .,,< 



steamers, and thus put the pleasures of lake travel within 
easy reach o{ the people. Ultimately, similar extensions 
and piers will be made, at all the down-town cross 

streets. 

A number of municipal measures of great impor- 
tanee occupied the attention of the city authorities and 
the public, during the first half of the decade from 1870 
to 1880. On January 1, 1871, the penal and corrective de- 
partments of the city were divorced from the infirmary, 
and established in a large and well-appointed structure of 
their own, on Woodland avenue. The Cleveland Work- 
house and House of Correction was the official title of this 
new institution. The building was erected at a cost of 
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The first board 
of directors consisted of Harvey Rice, J. H. Wade, George 
H. Burt, S. C. Brooks, and William Edwards. 

The Board of Park Commissioners also came into exist- 
ence in 1 87 1, by an ordinance passed by the City Council 
in August, and the following gentlemen were constituted 
the members thereof: A. Everett, O. A. Childs, and J. H. 
vSargent. Previous to this time, the work that properly 
belonged to such department, had been performed by the 
street commissioner, and the creation of the board was the 
first real effort to give the city a system of public parks. 
Bonds to the amount of $35,000 were issued in 1872, and 
the first step toward the object in view was the beautify- 
ing of. the Public Square.. In 1874, the construction of 
Lake View Park was commenced, and work was soon 
after begun on Franklin Circle, and on the old and long- 
forgotten Clinton Park. 

The greatest step taken by Cleveland in the direction 
of a park system came through the munificent action of 
an honored and wealthy citizen. J. H. Wade ffl had pur- 

23 Jeptha H. "Wade was born in Seneca County, New York, on August n, 
1S11, and died in Cleveland on August 9, 1S90. He began life as a por- 
trait painter, and with camera and brush made his way in the world until 
1847, when he became interested in the newly-created electric telegraph, 
and took a contract for the construction of a line from Jackson to Detroit, 
Michigan. He was of great aid in the development of telegraphy, and was 




4 i6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

chased a great area of land, to the north of Euclid avenue, 
at the extreme eastern end of the city, and by large expend- 
itures of money had made a beautiful park, in which the 
skill of the landscape artist had touched the attractions 
of nature but to adorn. In 1882, Mr. Wade donated this 

park to the city, on condi- 
tion that seventy-five thou- 
sand dollars should be ex- 
( pended in improvements. 

The gift was accepted, and 
Wade Park now stands as 
a perpetual monument to 
the foresight and generosi- 
ty of Jeptha H. Wade. 
A second munificent 
y gift, of a like character, 

was the presentation of 
William j. gordon. Gordon Park to the city by 

William J. Gordon,* 24 who 
was for years one of the most active and enterprising 
of Cleveland's business men. In 1865, and at later peri- 
one of the prime movers in the creation of the great Western Union Tele- 
graph Company. He was one of the originators of the first Pacific tele- 
graph line. He became largely interested in railroads, being officially con- 
nected with the chief lines touching Cleveland. He was also an active 
figure in the banking circles of Cleveland, and connected wuth many other 
lines of business and manufacture. His generosity was great, and there 
were few of the beneficent charities of the city that could not count upon 
his constant and generous aid. 

24 William J. Gordon was born on September 30, 1S1S, in Monmouth 
County, New Jersey. He began business life at an early age, and although 
but twenty-one years of age when he came to Cleveland, in 1839, he had 
already seen several years of mercantile life, and shown admirable busi- 
ness qualities. It was not long before he was recognized as one of the 
active business forces of the city, as the head of the wholesale grocery 
house of W. J. Gordon & Co., and of Gordon, McMillan & Co. He was one 
of the pioneers in opening the iron ore regions of Lake Superior, owning 
large interests in the Cleveland Iron Mining Company. He was connected 
with several manufacturing establishments of Cleveland, and was known 
all over the country as owner of one of the finest stock farms in the West, 
and of several horses of a national reputation. He was a traveller, reader, 
and man of culture. He died at Cleveland, on November 23, 1S92. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 7/7 



ods, Mr. Gordon purchased, on the lake shore, to the 
cast of the city, several Large tracts of land, and began the 
laying out of an extensive park. Landscape gardeners 

were employed. Large forces of men were set at work, 
and. there was no hesitation at any adornment or im- 
provement because of its cost. The result was the crea- 
tion of a park of 122 acres, that in attractiveness and 
completeness of artistic finish finds few equals in the 
country. On Mr. Gordon's death, it was found that he 
had left this magnificent monument of himself as a gift to 
the City of Cleveland, free from burdensome conditions. 
The main condition was that the park should be forever 
maintained as snch, and at all times be kept open to the 
public, under the exclusive name of ' ' Gordon Park. ' ' The 
title passed to the city on October 23, 1893. 

The possession of two such great breathing places, as 
Wade Park and Gordon Park, however, did not fill the 
demand certain to be made by that Greater Cleveland, 
which was even then looming up in the near future. In 
fact, these magnificent donations but stimulated the pub- 
lic mind, and made the people of Cleveland determined 
that other and notable additions should be made, that the 
city's park department might equal her other claims to 
distinction and recognition. 

It was seen that the work of the future must be carried 
forward on a broader plan, than had been possible in the 
past. The agitation in favor of a comprehensive system 
of parks and boulevards, was carried on with commenda- 
ble spirit. Several meetings of public-spirited citizens 
were held. A plan was formulated, and the needed leg- 
islation sought, the result being the passage, on April 
5, 1893, of the so-called Park Act. This provided that a 
board of Park Commissioners should be formed, one of 
whom should be the mayor of the city, another the presi- 
dent of the City Council, and three appointed by the Sink- 
ing Fund trustees. In accordance therewith, the first 
board came into being on April 26, 1893, and consisted 
of Robert Blee, mayor of Cleveland; A. J. Michael, 



4 iS THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

president of the Council; Charles H. Bulkley, Amos 
Townsend, and John F. Pankhurst. Mr. Bulkley was 
made president, and F. C. Bangs elected to the office of 
secretary. 

Results have already shown that these gentlemen un- 
derstood, to a large degree, the needs of the situation, and 
the importance of the work that had been entrusted to 
their hands. • To quote their own words : ' ' The general 
plan, which they decided to be one of the best adapted 
for achieving the ends aimed at, had, as its principal fea- 
ture, a large park on the outskirts of the city, in each of 
the several main sections, the same to be so located, that, 
in case the future should so determine, and the needs of 
the city so require, such outlying parks could be readily 
united and connected by a broad, smoothly-paved boule- 
vard, encircling the city, thus, with the parks, forming a 
chain of verdure around it." * 

Only the briefest mention of the labors of the commis- 
sion, and the results, as already apparent, is possible here. 
The main features are as follows : The acquisition of the 
Doan Brook Valley, from Wade Park to Lake Erie, con- 
necting Wade and Gordon parks: the creation of Edge- 
water Park, containing eighty-nine acres, and situated on 
Lake Erie, on the West Side, beginning at the foot of 
Waverly avenue ; the purchase of Brooklyn Park, con- 
taining nearly eighty-one acres, and situated to the west of 
the new Brooklyn- Brighton viaduct ; the creation of the 
South End Park, in the Xewburg of the earlier days, 
containing one hundred and forty-five acres ; the addition 
of thirty acres to Gordon Park, to be used as picnic 
grounds; the creation of Ambler Parkway, containing 
fifty-five acres, commencing at Cedar avenue, and follow- 
ing the valley of Doan Brook, for a distance of one and a 
half miles, to the Shaker Heights; and Shaker Heights 

Second Annual Report of the Board of Park Commissioners," iSq4, 
p. ii. This report, and that for 1S95, give a detailed history of the park 
system as managed by the commission, accompanied by many illustra- 
tions, showing portions of the parks and approaches thereto. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 419 



Park, containing two hundred and seventy-eight acres. 28 
A magnificent addition to the public park system of 
Cleveland was made, in 1896, when John I). Rockefeller 
authorized the announcement that he had quietly deeded 
to the city, two hundred and seventy-six acres of land, 
worth $2 70,000, for park purposes, and followed that by 
a cash donation of $300,000, for the purpose of complet- 
ing the boulevard between Wade Park and the park 
lands on Shaker Heights. 

This announcement came as a complete surprise to the 
people of Cleveland. It was made by J. G. W. Cowles, 
president of the Chamber of Commerce, in the great mass 
meeting, held on July 22, 1896, in celebration of Cleve- 
land's Centennial birthday. Mr. Cowles explained the 
gift, and its conditions, in these words: "On this, Found- 
er's Day, of our Centennial Celebration, on behalf of the 
Park Commissioners, I am instructed to announce to the 
citizens of Cleveland, the offer made to them, not only of 
the gift to the city for park purposes, of the lands pur- 
chased, at a cost of $270,000, but also to replace in the 
treasury of the park board, the amount of $300,000, paid 
by said board, for Doan Brook lands, before such individ- 
ual purchases were undertaken, making, in all, a gift to 
the City of Cleveland of two hundred and seventy-six 
acres, costing $600,000, upon conditions already under- 
stood and approved in part, the principal one being, that 

26 The Park Commission lost two of its ablest and most industrious mem- 
bers, in 1895. Hon. Amos Townsend, who died at St. Augustine, Fla. , 
on March 1 7th, was for many years connected with the business and pub- 
lic interests of Cleveland. He was born near Pittsburg, Pa., in 1S31, 
was in business in Mansfield, Ohio, for a time, and removed to Cleve- 
land, in 1 858. He was, for many years, a member of the wholesale gro- 
cery firm of Edwards, Townsend & Co. ; served for ten years as a member 
of the City Council, during seven of which he filled the office of president. 
He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1S73; and in 
1876 was elected to Congress by the Republicans of Cuyahoga Count}-, 
and ably served in that office for several terms. The other loss to the 
commission came in the death of its able president, Charles H. Bulkley, 
who died on December 29, 1S95. The vacancies thus created were filled 
by the appointment of J. H. McBride, and L. E. Holden ; Mr. McBride 
being elected to the office of president. 



420 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the whole amount of the cost of these lands shall be spent 
in improving and beautifying them, so as to make this 
magnificent addition to the parks of Cleveland speedily 
available for the use, and benefit, and delight, of all the 
people." The sentiment with which Mr. Cowles closed 
his speech found an echo in the hearts of Clevelanders, 
everywhere: ''From this hour, in the honored and noble 
company of Wade and Gordon, as benefactors of their fel- 
low citizens and fellow men, in our hearts with gratitude, 
and upon our lips with praise, will be the name of the 
giver of this princely gift, John D. Rockefeller." 

At a meeting of the Park Commissioners, held on Au- 
gust 5, 1896, there came yet another surprise, of a like 
welcome character, in the public announcement that 
Patrick Calhoun had donated to the city a strip of land, 
having over four hundred feet frontage on Euclid avenue, 
beginning at Fairmount street, and running parallel to 
the land given by Mr. Rockefeller, as far as Cedar avenue, 
thence along Doan Brook Valley, to and through Cedar 
Glen. This has made possible the dream of the commis- 
sioners — the construction of a circular park, on Euclid 
avenue, near Fairmount street, as the grand entrance to 
what will, eventually, be one of the most beautiful park 
systems in the world. 

In 1 87 1, the office of city auditor was created, and 
Thomas Jones, Jr., elected to the position. Prior to that 
time, the duties belonging to such department had been 
performed by the city clerk, who was an officer of the City 
Council, and under its direct control. The new depar- 
ture served as a check upon extravagance, and a safeguard 
against the misappropriation of funds, as the new official 
took the stand, and maintained it, that no warrants on the 
treasury could be legally drawn, unless the money to pay 
such warrant was " already in the treasury, and to the 
credit of the proper fund, to which it should be charged. ' ' 

The wisdom of that position has been fully proved, by 
the subsequent financial history of Cleveland. 

The growth of Cleveland, by accessions to her popula- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. /_v 

tion by immigration, had been steady, and the time now 
came when her borders were to be measurably increased, 
by annexations. East Cleveland had beeome, in all es- 
sential features, a portion of the city in fact, and it was 
thought, on both sides of the line, that it should become 
also a part in name, and in government. When the pre- 
liminary steps had been taken, the question of annexation 
was submitted to the voters of Cleveland, in April, 1872, 
and received 7,240 votes in favor, to 2,885 opposed. The 
East Cleveland vote upon the same question resulted in 
268 in favor, and 198 opposed. Henry B. Payne, J. P. 
Robison, and John Huntington, were appointed as com- 
missioners for Cleveland, and John E. Hurlbut, John W. 
Heisley, and William A. Neff for East Cleveland. It 
was agreed that all liabilities of the section to be an- 
nexed should be assumed by the city, with the exception 
of assessments for local improvements already made, that 
should be paid as already provided ; that the annexed dis- 
trict should be divided into two wards ; and that Avithin 
eighteen months the city should expend, in those wards, 
not less than seventy-five thousand dollars, in extension 
of water pipe, fire service, and other improvements. This 
agreement was approved on October 29, 1872, and the 
two communities became one, in law. 

East Cleveland w T as hardly safe in the municipal fold,, 
before the village of Xew^burg came clamoring for admis- 
sion. A meeting of its citizens was held on August 4, 
1873, a t which resolutions were adopted, which declared 
that the time had come "when the necessity and future 
welfare of the people ' ' imperatively demanded the bene- 
fits of village or city corporation, and that the best means 
of obtaining that end, was by annexation to the City of 
Cleveland. 

A committee of three, E. T. Hamilton, A. Topping, 
and Joseph Turney, were appointed to present a petition 
to the Cleveland City Council, looking to this end. John 
Huntington, H. H. Thorpe, and A. T. Van Tassel, were 
appointed to represent the Council in the matter. The 



422 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

question was submitted to the voters of Newburg, and 
carried, and before the end of the year named, Newburg- 
constituted the Eighteenth Ward of Cleveland. 

The legal business of the Cuyahoga Common Pleas 
Court had so grown by 1873, that increased facilities of 
some character became a matter of absolute necessity. 
The plan suggested was the establishment of a Superior 
Court, on the plan of one then existing in Cincinnati, 
which should have jurisdiction for civil cases only, com- 
ing from the City of Cleveland, exclusive of the rest of 
Cuyahoga County. An act was accordingly passed by the 
Legislature on May 5, 1873, creating said court, to consist 
of three judges, who should hold office for five years. At 
a special election held in June, Seneca O. Griswold, James 
M. Jones, and Gershom M. Barber were elected such 
judges. The brief history of this court is thus graphically 
told, by one who was an honored member thereof: 2r "The 
expectation that the two courts would be able to do the 
judicial work of the county, as then organized, was not re- 
alized. The business of the country, which had enjoyed 
an unheard-of prosperity, met with a sudden and un- 
looked-for check. On the 18th of September, 1873, the 
most extraordinary financial panic that the country had 
ever experienced, began. Failures of manufacturing and 
commercial establishments took place in every part of the 
country. Laborers all over the country were thrown out 
of employment, and what had never before been experi- 
enced in Cleveland, the savings banks substantially closed 
their doors, and even the bonds of the city sold at ruinous 
discount. The result upon the work of the courts was 
soon apparent, and in less than two years both courts were 
overcrowded with business, and immediate relief was re- 
quired. On the 25th of March, 1875, an act was passed 
by the Legislature entitled 'an Act to facilitate the Admin- 
istration of Justice in Cuyahoga County,' by which the 
Superior Court was abolished, to take effect on the 1st of 

-'• " The Superior Courts, " by Hon. G. M. Barber. — " Bench and Bar of 
Cleveland," p. 50. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 423 

July following, and its business transferred to the Court 
of Common Pleas, and by the same act four additional 
judges were added to the Court of Common Pleas, to be 
elected at the regular State election, in October of that 
year. At that election, two of the judges of the Superior 
Court, Hon. James M. Jones and Hon. G. M. Barber, were 
elected to seats on the bench of the Court of Common 
Pleas, both of whom served two successive terms in that 
court, and are now in active practice. Judge Seneca O. 
Griswold, on the termination of the Superior Court, re- 
turned to practice, and until his health failed, was recog- 
nized as one of the ablest members of the Cuyahoga 
County bar." 

The general financial difficulties, to which Judge Barber 
refers in the above, were the most severe that had been ex- 
perienced since 1857, and were largely caused by the same 
combination of circumstances that brought about the 
panic of 1837. General speculation, excessive inflation, 
and the projection of far more railroads than were needed, 
combined with the actual shrinkage from war prices, 
worked together for the crash that was started on that 
memorable day, when Jay Cooke & Co., of Philadelphia, 
went down. Business everywhere received a severe 
check, there were failures in all directions, and from four 
to six years passed before the country really recovered. 
Cleveland, like other cities, felt the blow, but had so far 
advanced in wealth and manufacturing importance that 
the shock was but temporary. Not a bank was compelled 
to suspend. The most severe effects were felt upon real 
estate values, which wild speculation had inflated beyond 
all reason, and many projects for pushing the limits of the 
city far beyond the demands of the day, went suddenly to 
pieces, at the first touch of the storm. 

One of the leading features of 1874 was the great 
woman's crusade against the liquor traffic. This phenom- 
enal movement had its commencement in Hillsborough, 
O., in December, 1873, when Dr. Dio Lewis, of Boston, 
•delivered an address on temperance, in which he sug- 



424 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

gested that "the work of temperance reform might be suc- 
cessfully carried on by women, if they would set about it 
in the right manner — going to the saloon-keeper, in a 
spirit of Christian love, and persuading him, for the sake 
of humanity and his own welfare, to quit the business." 
When the speaker asked if the ladies present were ready 
to undertake the labor, scores of them arose in pledge for 
the undertaking. On the day following, a number of them 
met at the church, and after services filed out two by two, 
called at the nearest saloon, where prayer was offered, and 
then went on to other places, which were visited in a like 
manner. Saloon-keepers, inn-keepers, and druggists were 
all asked to sign the pledge and quit the business. The 
plan was soon followed in other places, and before long 
these "praying bands" were seen in all parts of the State. 28 
The movement reached Cleveland on March 10, 1874, 
when a meeting was called under the auspices of the 
Women's Christian Association. Six hundred women re- 
sponded, among them the leaders of thought, the most 
active in church work, the most cultured to be found in 
the city. A Temperance League was formed, with Miss 
Sarah Fitch as president. Pledge books were obtained, 
the city districted, and praying bands sent out. "In a 
short time," to quote from the official report of the Cru- 
sade, "over five thousand were enrolled members of the 
league, each one signing a pledge neither to use intox- 
icants nor offer them as a beverage, and to discounte- 
nance their use in every possible way ; and about ten thou- 
sand names to all the other pledges." The first visit was 
to a saloon on the Public Square, on March 17th, by a 
band of twenty-two, led by Mrs. W. A. Ingham. The 
w r ork was carried on for weeks, with only one or two dis- 
turbances of note, which were quickly subdued by procla- 
mation of Mayor Otis, and the efficient work of the police. 
To continue the above record: " During these three 

28 The full history of this movement may be found in the following 
work: " History of the Woman's Temperance Crusade," by Mrs. Annie 
Wittenmyer ; with an introduction by Frances E. Willard. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ,j 5 



months of crusade work, three distilleries, eight breweries, 
thirty-one drug stores, thirty-five hotels, forty wholesale 
dealers, and one thousand one hundred saloons were 
visited, many of them again and again. Four hundred 
and fifty of these places often admitted the band for serv- 
ices. There were seventy out-door meetings in ware- 
houses, etc. Mass meetings on the Sabbath, conducted by 
women, were held in wigwams in different wards, as well 
as churches, and always crowded." A closed saloon on 
River street was converted into a home for temperance 
and general rescue work, under the name of the River 
Street Friendly Inn. Other institutions of a like character 
were opened in various parts of the city, and some of 
them have found permanent work and locations, and are 
ranked among the most efficient of the reformatory and 
moral agencies of the city. The Young Ladies' Temper- 
ance League was also one of the direct results of this sea- 
son of temperance labor. 

The most direct and permanent result of this crusade, 
however, came in the establishment of the Woman's Chris- 
tian Temperance L^nion, which was organized as the 
Woman's Christian League, and incorporated under that 
name in 1880, making the change of appellation in 1883. 
This great L T nion has, in many Avays, Avorked for the good 
of the community, in lines of temperance, and religious 
and benevolent labor. 

The holding of the nineteenth Saengerfest, in 1874, Avas 
an eA'ent AA'hich illustrated the great importance of the 
German element in CleA r eland, and its ability to carry out 
any undertaking to Avhich it AA r as committed. A stock 
company Avas raised, and sixty thousand dollars paid in, 
Avith Avhich a large structure Avas erected on Euclid aA T enue, 
betAveen Case and Sterling a Avenues, Avith a capacity of fif- 
teen hundred on the staee, and nine thousand in the audi- 
torium. The Aveek from June 22nd to 29th AA^as giA^en 
OA^er to orchestral and A'ocal music of the highest char- 
acter, participated in by German singing societies from 
all parts of the country. 



426 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



The opening of the newly-erected Euclid Avenue Opera 
House, on September 6, 1875, was in the direction of 
better amusements, and provided a place of entertainment 
in keeping with the size and culture of modern Cleveland, 
which had long outgrown " Brainard's Hall," and the old 
''Academy of Music," on Bank street. The movement 
for securing this needed dramatic temple was set on foot 
by John A. Ellsler, who gave his time, and so pledged 
his means, that when it proved to be otherwise than a 
financial success, he lost the accumulations of a life of de- 
votion to his chosen 
profession. 

A retrospective 

glance at Cleveland, 
from the theatrical 
standpoint, will be of 
interest. In 1820, 
when yet a straggling 
village of five hun- 
dred souls, Cleveland 
was visited by its 
first theatrical troupe. 
This was managed by 
an actor named Blan- 
chard, and as there 
was no other suitable 
place, the perform - 
were given in the ball-room 
which stood where the Forest 




EUCLID AVENUE OPERA HOUSE 



ances, which lasted a week 
of the Cleveland House 
City House is now. After that, there were many perform- 
ances of this nature in the ball-room, and later in the old 
brick courthouse on the Square. Here Shakespeare was 
first given in 1831. The first building, especially erected 
for a theatre, was at the corner of Union lane and Superior 
street hill. It was built by Samuel and William Cook. 
The theatre was on the second floor, a room about 70 by 
50 feet, and was poorly equipped for its purpose. Early 
in the thirties, Italian Hall was built, on Water street, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



,2 7 



where the wholesale grocery of William Edwards & Co. 
now stands. It was of brick, three stories high, and the 
theatre was on the top floor. In 1839, Mechanics' Hall, at 
the corner of Prospect and Ontario streets, was fitted up 
as a theatre, but the enterprise was unsuccessful. The 
Water Street Theatre was built, in 1848, by John S. Potter. 
It stood on the present site of the New England House, 
and was a magnificent structure for the times. It had a 
front of sixty feet, a spacious pit, two tiers of boxes and 
four private boxes, and seated over a thousand people. It 
was destroyed by fire in 1850. Watson's Hall was built in 
1840, by J. W. Watson, on 
Superior street, where the 
Wilshire Building is now lo- 
cated. In 1845, Silas Brainard 
bought it, and changed the 
name to Melodeon Hall, by 
which title it was known un- 
til i860, when it was called 
Brainard 's Hall. It Avas af- 
terwards known as Brai- 
nard 's Opera House, and the 
Globe Theatre ; it was torn 
down in 1880. 

The most famous play- 
house in the city was the 
Academy of Music, on Bank street. It was built in 1852, 
by Charles Foster, who ran it for a short time, and then, 
on account of bad business, leased it to John A. Ellsler, Jr. 
On its boards, the most famous actors of the world ap- 
peared, and from its stock company many of to-day's great 
actors were graduated. It was partly destroyed by fire 
on June 30, 1889, but was rebuilt, only to suffer entire 
destruction from the same cause, on September 8, 1892. 
It was again rebuilt, in a cheap way, and is now used as 
a variety house. Shortly after the building of the Acad- 
emy of Music, P. T. Barnum started a theatre in the Kelley 
Block, on Superior street. It was afterwards managed by 




JOHN A. ELLSLER. 



428 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

A. Montpelier as a variety theatre, until he assumed 
charge of the Theatre Comique. Then it was converted 
into offices. The Theatre Comique was built by G. Over- 
acher, in 1848, and was a prosperous theatre until the 
Academy of Music came into existence, when the com- 
petition proved disastrous. It was then run as a variety 
show by A. Montpelier, and after he retired was continued 
on the same lines by his successors. It was torn down 
some years ago. 

In 1875, John A. Ellsler, Jr., as before stated, formed 
a stock company, and built the Euclid Avenue Opera 
House, at a cost of $200,000. It was opened September 
6, 1875, with Mr. Ellsler as manager, and he continued in 
charge until 1878, when poor business compelled him to 
abandon management, and the house. It was then sold 
at sheriff's sale, to Marcus A. Hanna, its present owner. 
October 24, 1892, this theatre was destroyed by fire, but it 
was immediately rebuilt by Mr. Hanna, on a grander scale 
than before, and was reopened on September 11, 1893. 

The Park Theatre, built by Henry Wick & Co., and 
managed by Augustus F. Hartz, was dedicated October 
22, 1883. Fire destroyed it January 5, 1884. It was re- 
built and reopened September 6, 1886. It is now known 
as the Lyceum Theatre. The Cleveland Theatre was 
built in 1885, by Charles H. Bulkley, and was formally 
opened October 19, 1885. It was destroyed by fire De- 
cember 7, 1 89 1, but was rebuilt at once, and reopened 
March 21, 1892. The Star Theatre was built by Walde- 
mar Otis, and was opened September 12, 1887. It was 
first known as the Columbia Theatre, but took the present 
title in 1889. The People's Theatre was once a skating 
rink, but was opened as a theatre January 26, 1885. It 
was made over, for a business block, in 1887. 

Of the minor places of amusement, Case Hall, now 
turned into offices, was the most famous, and all the great 
musicians of the past thirty years appeared there. Also 
there are the Y. M. C. A. Hall, Music Hall, and various 
smaller halls used for concerts and the like. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 429 

The National Centennial year, 1876, was ushered in 
with a welcome, the like of which the city had never before 
witnessed, and in which all the people participated. An 
official invitation had been issued to the public at large, by 
the mayor and City Council, to attend an informal mid- 
night reception at the City Hall, which was elaborately 
decorated for the occasion. A clear sky, and w r eather of 
almost June warmth, invited to outdoor exercise, and at 
an early hour of the evening the streets were filled with 
people. As eleven o'clock approached, a myriad of lights 
began to show around the Public Square, and when the 
clock struck, all the lower part of the city burst into a 
blaze of illumination. The signal was taken up in all 
directions, and street after street, clear out to the sub- 
urbs, added to the brightness and enthusiastic effect of 
the scene. 

On the stroke of twelve, the steam whistles all over the 
city, broke into one vast chorus of echoing notes. A great 
cauldron of oil on the Public Square was set ablaze, and 
the deep boom of the guns was heard. Before the echo 
died away, a perfect tornado of sound swept in from all 
quarters, and made the very foundations of the earth seem 
to shake. The alarm of the fire bells cleft the air with 
sudden sound, and a dozen church towers gave answer, 
while the hoarse voices of the steam monsters, the bang- 
ing of firearms, the popping of firecrackers, and the shouts 
of thousands of excited people, were added to the chorus, 
while every now and then the deep boom of the cannon 
came in as a heavy accompaniment. 

The main events of the year thus patriotically ushered 
in, can be briefly noted. At daybreak, on July 4th, the 
great steel flagstaff 29 on the Public Square, erected by 
private generosity, was formally delivered to the city, 
through Mayor X. P. Payne, and other exercises of a pa- 

29 This is said to have been the first flagstaff of Bessemer steel ever 
erected. It was the gift of Henry Chisholm, on behalf of the Cleveland 
Rolling Mill Company ; was placed in position near the center of the 
Square by David Price and James Pannell ; and inspired a stirring poem 



43° 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



triotic character marked the hundredth anniversary of the 
nation's independence. Other features of the year were 
the opening of Riverside Cemetery, already described ; and 
a Police Life and Health Fund, created by act of the Legis- 
lature to provide pensions for disabled police officers, or 

aid for the families of those 
fatally injured in the dis- 
charge of duty. 

The year also saw the solu- 
tion of the problem of electric 
lighting, by Charles F. Brush, 
a Clevelander, who, in this 
year, perfected the dynamo 
that is the foundation of the 
lighting system known by his 
name the world over. Charles 
F. Brush 30 and his work de- 
serve more than a passing 
mention, as this great inven- 
tion gave him immediate rank among the great inventors 
of the age. He had commenced life in Cleveland as an 




MAYOR NATHAN P. PAYNE. 



from the pen of F. T. Wallace ("Men and Events of Half a Century"), 
a stanza or so of which are here quoted : 

The banner that a hundred years 

Has waved above our good ship's keel, 

Upheld by oak or mast of pine, 

Now proudly floats from staff of steel. 

Soon Lakeview, Woodland, Riverside 

Will keep the graves where kindred kneel — 

Of all who now salute the stars 

That wave above that staff of steel. 

And in remoter ages still, 

The antiquary's worthy zeal 

Will note the tombs and mural stones 

Of those who gave that staff of steel ! 

30 Charles F. Brush was born in Euclid, Ohio, on March 17, 1849. He 
attended the schools of Cleveland, and pursued a special course at Ann 
Arbor, Mich. , graduating in i86q, as a mining engineer. As a boy, he was al- 
ways experimenting, and at work with batteries, magnets, and other mechan- 
ical and electrical appliances. He never experimented, however, for the 
mere pleasure of toying with the forces of nature. Each model that found 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



43 r 



analytical chemist, in 1872, when the Cleveland Telegraph 
Supply & Manufacturing Company was formed, and being- 
called upon by that organization to do some special scien- 
tific work, became deeply interested in the subject of elec- 
tricity. An arrangement of mutual assistance and co- 
operation was made between the company and himself, 
and he set to work to solve the question of electrical light- 
ing. Within a few weeks, he completed his first attempt, 
performing the greater part of the mechanical labor with 
his own hands. Before exhibiting it to his associates, he 
took it out to his father's farm, east of the city, and tested 
it with a horse-pow r er, used in the farm labor. Having 
seen it work to his satisfaction, he again loaded it into his 
buggy, and- took it to the Supply works, where it was set 
up in a corner. It was then put in circuit with a clock- 
work lamp, and from the first it worked to the perfect sat- 
isfaction of all concerned, and for many years afterwards 
was in constant and practical operation. It is a fact 
worthy of note, that the Brush machine, of its most suc- 
cessful pattern, showed no change from this first produc- 
tion in the principles of construction or in general scien- 
tific plans. This first working machine was constructed 
without a model, after the plan which had definitely and 
permanently shaped itself in the inventor's head, before he 
had made a pattern or lifted a finger toward its mechanical 
execution. The first machine gave one light of about 
three hundred candle power. Mr. Brush supplemented the 
machine with the invention of an accompanying lamp, 
which was also a marvel of completeness, for the work for 
which it was intended. Through the commercial enter- 
prise of the Brush Electric Company (which appeared as 
successor of the organization above named), under the effi- 
cient management of George W. Stockly, the new inven- 

construction at his hands, must have not only a use, and a power to per- 
form some portion of the world's labor, but also be an answer to some ex- 
pressed demand. This trait of character has found expression all through 
the labors of Mr. Brush, and is one of the marks that set him apart from 
the main body of the world's great inventors. 



43 2 



'THE til STORY OF CLEVELAND. 



tion was pushed with great energy, and an immense and 
wonderfully successful business built up. While the total 
sales of 1877 reached but thirty-five thousand dollars, 
those of 1882 had reached over two million. 

At the very close of this Centennial year, which had 
been ushered in amid such rejoicings, there occurred, so 
near to Cleveland as to become a part of its record, one of 
the most terrible railroad accidents ever recorded. On 
the evening of Friday, December 29, 1876, in the midst of 
a fierce snow and wind storm, a heavily laden passenger 
train on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway 




FOREST CITY HOUSE, 1 876. 



went down with the bridge it was crossing, into the ravine 
of the Ashtabula River, and a hundred and more passen- 
gers met instant death, while scores of others were injured. 
The train was late, and two engines were hardly able to 
drag it through the blinding storm. It consisted of two 
express cars, two baggage cars, two day passenger 
coaches, a smoking car, a drawing-room car, and three 
sleepers. The passenger cars were all filled with travel- 
ers, most of whom were going to, or returning from, events 
connected with the happy holiday season. The crash 
came without warning, and in an instant the bridge and 
train lay a ruin, in the bed of the ice gorge below, and a 



THE HISTi )RY OF ( '/./■ I 1:1.. I ND, 433 

moment later fire broke forth, to complete the work of 
death. 

It was a seene that no pen can describe, and there is 
no need for the re-telling. The citizens and firemen of 
Ashtabula did all that lay in their power. A relief train 
was sent as soon as possible from Cleveland. The railroad 
authorities worked with herculean powers for the relief of 
the suffering, and the preservation of the remains of the 
dead. Every house, and office, and saloon, at Ashtabula 
Station became a hospital for the night. It was an awful 
night, the cold and storm adding their terrors to those of 
fire and suffering and death. 31 

The military spirit of Cleveland, seems to have experi- 
enced a sudden revival in 1877, if Ave may judge from the 
practical results. In that year, the Fifteenth Regiment 
Ohio National Guard was organized, largely through the 
efforts of Colonel A. T. Brinsmade, then an aid on the 
staff of Governor Hayes. It was at first composed of the 
Brooklyn Blues, the Emmett Guards, the Veteran Guards, 
the Forest City Guards, the ToAvnsend Guards, and the 
Buckeye Guards. The regiment was organized in June, 
with the following officers: Colonel, A. T. Brinsmade; 
Lieutenant-Colonel, George A. McKay; Major, Henry Rich- 
ardson ; Surgeon, John F. Gibson, M.D. ; Assistant-Surgeon, 
R. W. Stannard, M.D. ; Adjutant, George B. Huston; Quar- 
termaster, George D. Scott ; Chaplain, Rev. James A. 
Bolles. The regiment Avas soon increased to ten com- 
panies, by the accession of the Chagrin Falls Guards, of 
Chagrin Falls ; the Hart Guards, of Elyria ; the Berea 
Guards, of Berea, and the Washington Guards, of CleA T e- 
land. The CleA r eland Gatling-Gun Battery was also organ- 
ized in 1877, the citizens of the city haA r ing proA T ided tAvo 
gatling-guns for their use. The first officers Avere : Captain, 
W. F. Goodspeed; Lieutenant, Frank Wilson ; Orderly Ser- 
geant, Thomas GoodAvillie ; Quarter ///aster-Sergeant, J. Ford 
Evans. All of the members Avere Avell-knoAvn gentlemen, 

31 A complete narrative of this great event may be found in the follow- 
ing work: " The Ashtabula Disaster," by Rev. Stephen D. Peet. 



434 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

and the aim, from the beginning, has been to keep the bat- 
tery up to a high standing, in both a military and social 
way. Still another military organization that saw a be- 
ginning in 1877, was the First Cleveland Troop, which was 
created on September 10. A meeting of a number of 
citizens was held in Weisgerber's Hall on that date, and 
was presided over by Colonel W. H. Harris. It was 
decided that a cavalry company should be formed, and the 
organization was perfected on October 10th, by the election 
of: Captain, W. H. Harris; First- Lieutenant, E. S. Meyer; 
Second Lieutenant, George A. Garrettson; First Sergeant, 
Charles D. Gaylor; Surgeon, Frank Wells, M.D. There 
were forty original members, and the preamble to the 
constitution declared that the troop was created so that 
the members might "perfect themselves in horsemanship, 
in the use of arms, and in military exercise." In 1878, 
the troop took possession of its own fine brick armory, on 
Euclid avenue, near Case avenue, and in 1884 removed to 
more commodious quarters, on Willson avenue. It long 
since took high rank among the leading independent mili- 
tary organizations of the country. 

It was thought, in the summer of 1877, that there would 
be immediate need not only of the newly organized Fif- 
teenth Regiment, but of such other military assistance as 
could be secured. The great railroad strike of that year 
will be long remembered, not only for the actual damage 
that resulted, but also because of the greater dangers that 
were threatened. The terrible destruction of railroad prop- 
erty in Pittsburg, by the mob that took advantage of the 
strike disturbances, caused dismay in other cities to which 
the strike had extended. It reached Cleveland on July 2 2d, 
when five hundred men, in the employ of the Lake Shore 
& Michigan Southern Railway Company, ceased work, and 
by their absence, left the business of the road almost at a 
standstill. Travel and transportation were for the time 
paralyzed, thousands of men were thrown out of employ- 
ment, and a state of anxiety as to what might come next 
prevailed. The strikers themselves were quiet and law- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



435 



abiding, and their leaders counseled them, to prevent all 
acts of violence, so far as lay within their power, but there 
was danger that the lawless and criminal classes might 
find their opportunity for outbreak, in the public excite- 
ment, and the unrest of labor. 

The discretion and wisdom of Mayor William G. Rose, 
and his associates in the city government, were brought 
into play in a most admirable manner. Counseling peace 
and moderation, upon the part of all, sympathizing with 
the railroad men in such demands as were just, and at the 
same time showing them that violence would not be toler- 
ated ; preparing for the worst, 
and making arrangements to 
meet it with vigor ; they carried 
the city through two weeks of 
danger, without the striking of a 
blow, or a dollar's damage to 
public property. The authori- 
ties made no parade of their 
preparation ; not a drum tap was 
heard, nor a body of troops seen 
in the streets. Yet, in police 
stations, in armories and else- 
where, armed police, militia, in- 
dependent companies, and vol- 
unteer veterans of the war, lay for days upon their arms, 
ready to crush at one blow the first sign of violence. 
When the railroads and their men came to terms, all 
things moved on as before, and Cleveland had no reason 
for regret, and no bill of damages to pay. 

A more attractive picture is that which presents itself 
in the closing days of 1878, when the people of the entire 
city turned out to celebrate the completion of that great 
stone structure which bound the East Side and the West 
Side in new bonds of union. The two sections, that at 
one time faced each other across the valley with such bit- 
ter rivalry, had become one in interest, and lived in the 
greatest harmony, and with this new viaduct carrying 




MAYOR W. G. ROSE. 



436 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



travel and traffic across the flats of the Cuyahoga, the one 
barrier against still closer intercourse was removed. 

Naturally, better means of communication between the 
two sides of the river had been discussed from the days 
of the great bridge war, and bridge after bridge had been 
constructed, only to prove that the toilsome ascent and 
descent of the hills was still an unpleasant feature of 
travel between the east and the west. 

In his annual message of 1870, Mayor Stephen Buhrer 
urged the construction of a high level bridge, and again 
referred to it in his communication to the City Council in 
the year succeeding. In response to these suggestions, the 
Council passed a resolution appointing a committee to re- 
port upon the question of such bridge. A favorable report 
was made, but a great deal of public opposition was de- 
veloped against a bridge of the character then proposed. 
Accordingly, on January 30, 1872, John Huntington in- 
troduced in the City Council a resolution for the appoint- 
ment of a special committee, to take into consideration the 
construction of a bridge across the river, at Superior street, 
and to confer with the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & 
Indianapolis Railway Company, as to the advisability of 
sinking their tracks below grade. The resolution was 
adopted, and entrusted to a committee consisting of Mayor 
F. W. Pelton, City Engineer C. H. Strong, John Hun- 
tington, and H. W. Leutkemeyer. 

On March 19, these gentlemen presented their findings to 
the City Council, in an extended report. They found that 
two routes were practicable, as follows : From the Atwater 
Building, Superior street, to the intersection of Pearl and 
Franklin streets, which would require a continuous high 
bridge between the points named. Second, from the in- 
tersection of Superior and Union streets, to the intersection 
of Pearl and Detroit streets. They submitted figures 
showing the cost of each route, and declared that, in their 
opinion, the Superior and Pearl street route possessed ad- 
vantages not to be found in any other. They urged its 
adoption, and suggested that the City Council obtain from 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 437 



the Legislature such authority as the situation made nec- 
essary. 

The aid of the General Assembly, therefore, was invoked, 
and a law was passed authorizing the city to issue bonds 
to the amount of one million one hundred thousand dol- 
lars, for the construction of the proposed viaduct. The 
question was duly submitted to the voters, and was car- 
ried by a majority of 5,451. A contract for .the masonry 
on the West Side was let, when an injunction was ob- 
tained by parties opposed to the measure, which tied it up 
almost completely until 1873. Progress was made slowly, 
and on May 4, 1876, a special election was held, which 
decided affirmatively these two questions: Whether toll 
should be charged, and whether more bonds should be 
issued for the completion of the work. Legislation was 
finally secured abrogating the toll decision, and making it 
a free bridge. W x hen the great and needed viaduct was 
turned over to the city authorities, on December 27, 1878, 
it had been four and a half years in building, and had cost 
$2, 170,000. 

The character of the structure can be best understood 
from the following figures, given by B. F. Morse, who 
succeeded Mr. Strong as city civil engineer, and who 
had charge of the enterprise during the greater portion of 
the time: The Viaduct, from Water street to its intersec- 
tion with Pearl and Detroit streets, is 3,211 feet in length, 
and exclusive of drawbridge is 64 feet in width, with a 
roadway 42 feet wide and sidewalks 11 feet in width. 
The drawbridge is 332 feet in length, 46 feet in width, 
with roadway 32 feet wide and sidewalks 7 feet wide. 
The height of the roadway of the draw above low water 
mark in the river is 70 feet. There are ten stone arches 
on the west side of the river, of which eight are 83 feet 
and two are 97^ feet span. The length of the roadway 
supported by stone arches is 1,382 feet. The average 
height of arches above the surface of the ground is 54 feet, 
and above the pile foundations 76' feet. The total num- 
ber of piles driven for foundations of arches and river 



43$ 'THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



piles, is 7,279, and, if laid lengthwise, would extend 277,092 
feet, or a fraction over 52 miles. There are 80,508 
perches of solid masonry in the Viaduct, and 15,500 cubic 
yards of gravel filling. The approximate weight of ma- 
terials resting on the pile foundations of the ten arches is 
140,000 tons; on the foundation for iron work 12,500 tons, 
and on the pier that supports the draw, 610 tons. 

All Cleveland made holiday on December 28, 1878, 
when the long-needed and long-wished-for structure was 
dedicated to the public use. A federal salute at daybreak, 
from the Cleveland Light Artillery, opened the exercises 
of the day. At 10.30 a. m. there was a great parade, by 
the military, uniformed societies, the fire department, and 
citizens generally, and at 12.30 exercises of a fitting nature 
were conducted in the old Tabernacle on Ontario street. 

Hon. B. R. Beavis presided. Prayer was offered by 
Dr. Charles S. Pomeroy, and an extended address, cover- 
ing the history of the structure, delivered by William G. 
Rose, mayor of Cleveland. An address was also deliv- 
ered by Hon. R. C. Parsons, succeeded by remarks from 
Hon. F. J. Dickman, William W. Armstrong, Hon. R. M. 
Bishop, Governor of Ohio; Governor Matthews, of West 
Virginia, and others. A banquet at the Weddell House 
followed in the evening, Hon. Amos Townsend presiding. 
A number of eloquent speeches were made by prominent 
Clevelanders, and by distinguished guests from elsewhere. 

On the day following, the great bridge was opened for 
the use of the public, and the East Side and West Side 
became one in fact, as they had before been in civil and 
governmental matters. 

It was in 1879 that the first steps were taken toward the 
formation of an organization that has been second only 
to the Western Reserve Historical Society, in the value of 
its labors, and in whose publications has been preserved 
a great amount of valuable historical information, that 
otherwise would have been lost. This was the Early 
Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga County, from whose 
Annals I have so freely quoted, in the pages that have 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



m 



gone before. Through the indefatigable labors of Har- 
vey Rice, and his associates, the story of Early Cleveland 
has been gleaned in a wealth of detail seldom obtained in 
matters of that character, and preserved for use and ref- 
erence through all time. 

The idea of such organization found origin in the mind 
of H. M. Addison, a well-known pioneer, whose inter- 
est in all matters of the past has been great and long- 
continued. In the fall of 1 879, he published a number 
of articles in the daily press 
of Cleveland, in relation to 
this matter. His idea, he 
has since explained, :w was 
the cultivation of "an inti- 
mate acquaintance with each 
other, ' ' and the perpetuation 
of " the kindly feelings for 
which pioneer life was pro- 
verbial, and to secure the 
preservation of much of the 
unwritten history of our 
county and its vicinity. ' ' To 
give effect to this idea, Mr. 
Addison wrote and circulated a call for a public meet- 
ing of such as might be interested. 33 The response ivas 
general, and on November 19, 1879, a large number of 

3 ' 2 " Early Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga County, Ohio," by H. M. 
Addison. — " Magazine of Western History," Vol. VIII., p. 281. 

33 Mr. Addison has related his experiences, m the paper before quoted. 
He met with very little encouragement, at first. Those to whom he pre- 
sented it seemed to think — and some said so in so many words — that it 
would not be a success, and declined signing it until others had done so. 
On presenting it to the venerable General H. H. Dodge, he said, ' O, get 
some of the old folks to sign it first. ' After several similar repulses, Mr. 
Addison went. to the residence of George Mygatt, where he obtained the first 
signature to the call. On his return, he called on General John Crowell, 
who was the second one to sign. Among others who signed were John W. 
Allen, J. P. Bishop, D. R. Tilden, Charles Whittlesey, H. B. Payne, 
John A. Foot, Harvey Rice, S. Williamson, R. C. Parsons, H. H. Dodge, 
Geo. C. Dodge, T. P. Handy, Sherlock J. Andrews, J. H. Wade, William 
Bingham, George B. Merwin, and W. H. Doan. 




44o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

early settlers gathered at the rooms of the Probate Court. 
An organization was effected by the selection of John W. 
Allen as chairman, and H. M. Addison, secretary. It 
was decided that a society should be formed, under the 
name above given, and a constitution was adopted which 
declared that the membership should consist of such per- 
sons as had resided within the county for forty years, 
and which stated the reason for existence in these words : 
"The object of the association shall be to meet in conven- 
tion annually, with the view of bringing its members into 
more intimate social relations, and collecting all such in- 
teresting facts, incidents, relics and personal reminiscences, 
relative to the early history and settlement of the city and 
county, as may be regarded of permanent value, and trans- 
ferring the same to the Western Reserve Historical So- 
ciety, for preservation and for the benefit of the present and 
future generations. ' ' 

The first permanent officers were then elected, as fol- 
lows: President, Harvey Rice; Vice-Presidents, Sherlock J. 
Andrews, John W. Allen; Secretary and Treasurer, George 
C. Dodge ; Executive Committee, R. T. Lyon, Thomas 
Jones, Jr., S. S. Coe, W. J. Warner, David L. Wightman. 

The first annual convention of the association, was held 
at the Euclid Street Presbyterian Church, on May 20, 1880. 
From that time until the present these annual gatherings 
have been held, each a season of great pleasure and profit 
to all who were permitted to be present. Mr. Rice held 
the office of president, by successive elections, until his 
death, when he was succeeded, in 1892, by the election of 
Richard C. Parsons, who has been continued in the office 
until the present time. 

It is due to the efforts of this association that Cleveland 
possesses the bronze memorial of the founder of the city, 
that stands on the southwestern quarter of the Public 
Square. In a historical address, delivered by Samuel 
E. Adams, at the first annual convention, he suggested that 
the association "would do a noble and commendable act 
were it to inaugurate a project for the erection, in Lake 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



if 



View Park, of a monument crowned with a statue of Gen- 
eral Cleaveland, commemorative of his having founded 
our beautiful city." A resolution favoring this sugges- 
tion was adopted at this gathering. 

At the annual meeting of [883, a resolution was also 
adopted to the effect that the association "proceed to 
raise a fund for the purpose of erecting, at some suitable 







STATUE OF MOSES CLEAVELAND. 



point within the City of Cleveland, a life-size statue, in 
marble or bronze, of General Moses Cleaveland," and also 
providing- for the selection of a committee of three to take 
the matter in hand. The following- gentlemen were ap- 
pointed: R. P. Spalding, Dudley Baldwin, and Bolivar 
Butts. 

The work was pushed as rapidly as circumstances would 



442 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



permit, and the completed monument was ready for un- 
veiling on the afternoon of July 23, [888. (The 22nd, or 
anniversary of Cleaveland' s landing at the Cuyahoga, fell 
upon the Sabbath.) The members of the association 
were escorted from Music Hall, where the annual conven- 
tion had been in session, to the Public Square, by the Cleve- 
land Grays. The exercises were opened by A. J. Will- 
iams, chairman of the executive committee, who explained 
that President Rice could not be present, because of sick- 
ness. He then gave the signal, and the flag draping the 
statue was removed, amid the admiring plaudits of the 
gathering. An address prepared by the president, was 
then read by Mr. Williams, the closing words of which 
contained a formal presentation of the monument to the 
city. 

A graceful response was made by Mayor B. D. Bab- 
cock. "As mayor of the City of Cleveland," said he, in 
conclusion, "in behalf of the people, I accept from you 
this beautiful and appropriate monument. Here, in the 
midst of these beautiful surroundings, upon these grounds 
dedicated forever to the public use, may it ever stand 
upon its firm foundation, to perpetuate the name and 
memory of Moses Cleaveland." 

The address of the day was delivered in Music Hall, a 
little later, by Samuel E. Adams. An ode, "Our City's 
Birthday," composed by Mr. Rice, 34 was sung, and after 
other brief exercises, the proceedings came to a close. 85 

The --monument consists of a circular pedestal of pol- 
ished granite, seven feet high, surmounted by a bronze 
statue seven feet and ten inches in height. It was cast 
in one piece, weighs 1,450 pounds, and is a life-like re- 

34 The opening stanza of the ode was as follows : 

" 'Tis here, when nature reigned supreme, 
That General Cleaveland trod the wild ; 
And saw an infant in his dream. 

And with his name baptized the child." 

35 The full report of these exercises may be found in the " Annals of the 
Early Settlers' Association." Xo. 9, p. 215. 



THE HISTORl OF CLEVELAND. 



//.»• 



production of General Cleaveland, dressed in the fashion 
of his clay, with a staff in his right hand and an old-fash- 
ioned compass clasped in the elbow of his left arm. The 
total cost was $4,378. 

The death of the younger Leonard Case, and the public 
announcement of his benefactions, comprised two of the 
most important events in Cleveland, in the year i<S«So. In 
an earlier portion of this record, we have noted the arrival 
of the elder Leonard Case in Cleveland, his connection 
with the city's first bank, and the part he took in the city's 
welfare, as a busy and shrewd man of business. He 
early saw that Cleveland was destined to become a place 
of importance, and made 
large purchases of land, in 
what was then the suburbs, 
and which the rapid growth 
of the city soon made of 
enormous value. His elder 
son, William Case, took an 
active part in public affairs, 
filling at one time the office 
of mayor. The son Leonard 
was a student and semi-re- 
cluse, finding his life and 
companionship in books, sci- 
ence, literary labors, and 
mathematics. Left the sole heir of a large estate, he re- 
garded it as a trust, and when he suddenly 7 died, on Jan- 
uary 6, 1880, it was found that he had made his beloved 
home- city the heir to a princely sum, the use and direction 
of which had been carefully pre-arranged by himself. On 
January 11, 1880, Henry G. Abbey, Mr. Case's confiden- 
tial business agent and personal friend, filed in the Coun- 
ty Recorder's office a deed which had been executed by 
Mr. Case some time before (in 1876), which conveyed to 
Mr. Abbey over one million dollars' worth of property, to 
be held in trust, for the eventual establishment of an 
institution to be known as "The Case School of Applied 




LEONARD CASE, JR. 



444 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Sciences." The deed conveyed the City Hall, and the 
land on which it stands, the block on which the old Case 
residence stood, and other tracts on St. Clair street, on 
Case avenue, and on Beech street. His donations to other 
institutions during his life-time had been munificent, one 
of which, that of Case Block, has been related already. 
In his deed of conveyance, the founder declared that in 



% ^ 




m 
Hi ^uHiriit' 

ill If If :Okm -in 

III lui fTciui 



CASE SCHOOL OF APPLIED .SCIENCE. 




Case School should be taught mathematics, physics, en- 
gineering, mechanical and natural drawing, metallurgy 
and modern languages. The school was duly incorpo- 
rated and organized on a small scale, in 1 88 1 . Its first ses- 
sions were held in the Case residence, on Rockwell street, 
and, in 1885, it was transferred to an elegant building, con- 
structed for its use, in the East End, opposite Wade Park. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



445 



This building was greatly damaged by fire in [886, butwas 
restored. The growth of its usefulness and influence has 
been sure and steady, from the very beginning. 

It would be an inexcusable oversight to dismiss mention 
of the Case family, without reference to that unchartered, 
unorganized organization, if the term may be permitted, 
of which the Case brothers, William and Leonard, were 
the sponsors and generous patrons. It was one of the 
most unique social clubs in the world, possessing no con- 
stitution and no officers, and known in local history for a 



fe-&^=>-..,r.-r 




" THE ARK." 



half century and more, under the brief but expressive 
name of "The Ark." 

The elder Leonard Case was the owner of a small 
w r ooden building that stood near the Case homestead, upon 
a portion of the ground now occupied by the Post-Office 
and Custom House. Along in the thirties, he abandoned 
its use as an office. His son William took possession, 
built a small addition in the rear, and gradually filled it 
with specimens of birds and animals, which he and his 
associates had shot and mounted. His friends were among 



yy6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the leading- young men of the city, chosen because of 

tastes similar to his own, and their familiarity with the 
gun and rod. They met in the little building, in the 
evening, for reading, conversation, and healthful social di- 
version ; and gradually the name which had been bestowed 
upon the structure — the Ark — became, by an easy tran- 
sition, that of the company which it sheltered. A list of 
these original "Arkites" is as follows: William Case, 
Leonard Case, Dr. Elisha Sterling, Stoughton Bliss, Col. 
E. A. Scovill, George A. Stanley, Bushnell White, Capt. 
B. A. Stanard, Dr. A. Maynard, D. W. Cross, Henry G. 
Abbey, R. K. Winslow, J. J. Tracy, John Coon. : * 

When the Post-Office building was erected, the "Ark " 
was removed to the lot now occupied by the Case Library 
Building. It was again taken farther west, to the site of 
the present City Hall. When it was finally demolished, a 
portion of its timber was made into tables and other fixt- 
ures for the new "Ark " headquarters, which Leonard 
Case had provided in the Case Library Building. 

Several years before his death, Mr. Case deeded the 
free use of these rooms, and their contents, to the gentle- 
men then composing the club, for their use, and to that of 
the last surviving member. L'pon his death, the property 
was to go to Case Library. The gentlemen named in this 
deed were: Charles L. Rhodes, Seneca O. Griswold, 
David W. Cross, Herman M. Chapin, Edward A. Scovill, 
William H. Sholl, James J. Tracy, Stoughton Bliss, Levi 
T. Scofield, R.odney Gale, Jabez W. Fitch, Henry G. Ab- 
bey, Bushnell White, Benjamin A. Stanard, John Coon. 87 

36 The accompanying illustration, "A Meeting at the Ark," was taken 
from a painting which William Case ordered, in 1S5S. It is a portrait 
group of the original Arkites, in their characteristic attitudes, as they 
stood or lounged about the room. 

37 " The Ark has a history. These two remarkable men (William and 
Leonard Case), who were the founders and promoters of the Ark, and all 
that accumulated around, and in time grew out of it, ultimately achieved 
their grand designs, in establishing the Kirtland Society of Natural 
Science, the Case Hall, its receptacle ; the Case Library, and, above all 
and finally, the Case School of Applied Sciences." — " The Log Book," by 
D. W. Cross. — " Magazine of Western History," Vol. IX, p. 6S6. 




*3 



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TO O 

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TO N ' 

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>% 03 



ro«5 

. «i 

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a o 
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03^ 

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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ./, 7 



At this writing (( Jctober, 1 896), the only survivors of the 
original "Arkites " are John Coon and James ). Tracy. 
Levi T. Scofield, one of the survivors of those later 
members to whom the deed mentioned above was made 

— called by Leonard Case "the regulars" — has furnished 
me with the following- information as to the present status 
of this unique organization: " I was not one of the orig- 
inal 'Arkites,' being only seventeen years of age when 
the painting- of the 'Ark' interior w r as made, and was not 
one of the regulars, until my return from the war, in 
1865. There is still an enthusiastic interest in the 'Ark,' 
and the attendance is just as regular as it has been dur- 
ing the past sixty years; but, I am sorry to say that dur- 
ing the past two years the only attendant has been the 
writer, who has rather a doleful time every night playing 
solitaire, and thinking of the old boys who are gone." 

Another great educational institution was added to 
Cleveland's growing list, in 1880. Amasa Stone, a mill- 
ionaire railroad builder and capitalist, made a proposition 
that resulted in removing the old and famous Western 
Reserve College 38 from Hudson, Ohio, to this city. His 
offer w T as as follows : He would give the institution five 
hundred thousand dollars, — one hundred thousand to be 
used for buildings, and the rest as an endowment, — pro- 
vided the college should be removed to Cleveland; that 
the people of the city would provide the needed grounds, 

38 This college came into being in answer to a demand of the New Eng- 
landers of the Western Reserve. In 1S01, the territorial Assembly was 
petitioned, by residents of this section, for a charter for a college, to be 
located on the Western Reserve. This was refused. In 1803, the first 
General Assembly of Ohio incorporated the Erie Literary Seminary, com- 
posed of residents of Trumbull County, which then comprised the entire 
Western Reserve. Under this charter, an academy was established in Bur- 
ton, in 1805. Out of this institution grew another, the charter of which 
was granted in 1826, and the corner-stone of the first building was laid at 
Hudson, on April 26th of the same year. The first students of this West- 
ern Reserve College were received in December, and temporarily instructed 
at an academy at Tallmadge. In 1S27, the new building at Hudson was 
occupied, and the preparatory department established. These facts are 
taken from "A History of Western Reserve College," by Rev. Carroll Cut- 
ler, D.D. 



44S THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

and that the name should be changed to the Adelbert Col- 
lege of Western Reserve University.*' This generous 
proposition was accepted, new buildings were erected 
near Case School, the institution was strengthened in 
many ways, and in the autumn of 1882, the old college 
entered, with renewed vigor, again upon the grand work 
it had for so many years successfully pursued. 

That work has been enlarged and broadened, until this 
university is recognized as one of the great educational 
forces of the Middle West. As has been well said, 
"Western Reserve University is one of the oldest, and one 
of the newest, institutions of learning. Its oldest depart- 
ment was founded in 1826, its newest in 1892." It was 
organized as a university in 1884, and consists of seven 
departments and two preparatory schools. The two last- 
named are the Western Reserve Academy, at Hudson, 
O., and the Green Spring Academy, at Green Spring, O. 
The departments are: Adelbert College, established in 
1826; College for Women, in 1888; Graduate School, 
in 1892; Medical School, in 1843; Law School, in 1892; 
Dental School, in 1892; Conservatory of Music, in 1871. 

The College for Women, which was opened in Septem- 
ber, 1888, was not wholly a new college, as it shared the 
rights and advantages of an educational foundation going 
back to 1826. The buildings were opened in September, 
1892. When President Charles F. Thwing came to the 
university, he found that a law school, on a plane with 
the other branches of the college, was a crying need. 
He set to work, and on September 25, 1892, the school 
was founded. It had not been in existence three months, 

39 " Soon after the war closed, he (Mr. Stone) met with a great misfor- 
tune, in the death of his only son, Adelbert Barnes Stone, a youth of the 
most amiable character, and the highest promise, who was drowned while 
bathing in the Connecticut river, being at the time a student of Yale Col- 
lege. . . . On condition that the Western Reserve College at Hudson 
should remove to Cleveland, and assume in its classical department the 
name of his lost and lamented son, he endowed it with the munificent sum 
of half a million dollars, which, at his desire, after his death, was increased 
by his family to the amount of six hundred thousand dollars." "Amasa 
Stone," by John Hay. — "Magazine of Western History," Vol. III., p. no. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



449 



when Mrs. Franklin T. Backus, who wished to make a 

fitting memorial to her husband, a famous jurist, gave the 
school $50,000. In recognition of this princely gift, the 
school was called The Franklin T. Backus Law School of 
the Western Reserve University. The members of the 
local bar have also made generous donations. The course 
is three years, and is modeled largely on that of Harvard. 




ADELBERT COLLEGE. 



The university has recently come into possession of a 
handsome and commodious library building, through the 
generosity of H. R. Hatch. It consists of a main build- 
ing, thirty-three feet by ninety-four feet in size, two 
stories high, with east and west wings, each twenty-seven 
feet by thirty-seven feet in size, one story high. It is 
built of Ohio sandstone. It has a capacity of 118,000 



45 o 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



books. The new building, to which the trustees insisted 
that the name " Hatch Library " be given, was dedicated 
on June 15th, 1896. 

The origin and early history of the Medical College 
have been given in an earlier portion of this work. The 
Cleveland Medical College, as the medical department of 
Western Reserve College, graduated its first class in 1844. 
In 1884, by reason of the change in the college, it became 




THE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL. 



the Medical Department of Western Reserve University. 
Among the prominent educational institutions of these 
later days, must be enumerated the University School. A 
movement was set on foot, in 1890, by a number of lead- 
ing citizens, for the establishment of a school where young 
men might be prepared for college, or for professional 
occupations. A large and well-equipped building, on 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 451 



Hough and Giddings avenues, was the outcome. This 
was read)- in [891, and since then, a model institution lias 
been carried on along the lines above indicated, with effi- 
cient literary, scientific and manual training departments. 

Still another important enterprise, that found its origin 
in the generosity of a prominent citizen of Cleveland, was 
the Cleveland Music Hall and Tabernacle, on Erie and 
Vincent streets. William H. Doan, in the early part of 
1881, donated the lot upon which the building now stands, 
and added a gift of ten thousand dollars, for the construc- 
tion of a great hall, to be used for such musical, moral 
and religious meetings as needed unusual space. The 
title of the property was to be vested in five trustees, 
three of whom were to be chosen by Mr. Doan or his 
heirs, and two by the Cleveland Vocal Society. A com- 
modious structure, capable of seating 4,300 people, was 
erected, at a cost of $51,333, and has, by its continual use- 
fulness, proven the wisdom and foresight of its gener- 
ous founder. 

For the second time in her history, Cleveland was 
called upon to prepare, in 1881, a temporary resting 
place, in the Public Square, for a murdered and a martyred 
President. James A. Garfield had grown very near to the 
hearts of her people, and the tributes paid his memory, 
upon that sad occasion, were inspired not alone by re- 
spect for his great office, but also by love of the neighbor, 
and the man. 

While Garfield represented a neighboring district, dur- 
ing his long career in Congress, he was regarded by the 
press and people of Cleveland as in part theirs also, and 
nowhere were his political and intellectual achievements 
hailed with more joy than here. When the word was 
flashed down from Chicago, 40 on that memorable 8th of 

40 Cleveland has not, as yet, been especially noted in the line of politi- 
cal conventions, beyond those of a local or State character, although one 
of the most popular convention cities in the country, in the way of 
gatherings of a miscellaneous character. She had, however, the somewhat 
doubtful honor of being chosen for the holding of a convention of those 
who, in 1864, opposed the re-nomination of Mr. Lincoln, on the ground 



4S2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

June, 1880, that the favorite son of Ohio was to be the 
Republican banner-bearer for that year, the general joy 
was great, and men of all parties were ready to extend 
their congratulations, and give him welcome. A recep- 
tion was tendered him, by apparently the entire city, 
when he reached here on the 9th, the animating spirit of 
which was well stated in Garfield's own words: " I 
know that all this demonstration means your gladness at 
the unity, and harmony, and good feeling, of the great 
political party, and in part your good feeling toward a 
neighbor and an old friend." 

All through the memorable campaign that followed, 
the real Garfield headquarters were in Cleveland, although 
the General remained, for the greater part of the time, in 
Mentor. Men, money, brains, political experience, end- 
less industry, were all here, as in a great reservoir, from 
which he could draw, as needed; and Cleveland took unto 
herself some degree of pride, and yet more pleasure, 
when he was declared the President-elect, and sent to sit 
in the chair of Washington and Lincoln. 

When the terrible news of the tragedy of July 2nd, 
1 88 1, was received here, the whole city became a house 
of mourning, and the hearts of our people were with the 
sufferer, until there came that later message of Septem- 
ber 19th, to the effect that the President was no more. 
At eleven o'clock at night the bells were tolled; the Light 
Artillery noted each half hour of the night, by the solemn 
booming of the guns; the mayor, on the morning fol- 
lowing, asked, by proclamation, that from noon onward, 
all places of business should be closed. 

It had been the expressed wish of Garfield, that beau- 

that he was too conservative in the conduct of the war. On May 31st of 
that year, a small, but radical, wing of the Republican party held a conven- 
tion here, which placed in nomination John C. Fremont and John 
Cochrane, upon a platform that demanded a more determined prosecution 
of the war, and the confiscation of the estates of those in rebellion, which 
were to be distributed among the soldiers and settlers. General Fremont 
accepted the nomination, but upon finding that the movement was not 
actively supported, withdrew, in the September following. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 433 



tiful Lake View Cemetery should be his final resting 
place, and, accordingly, he was brought here for burial. 
A pavilion, for the reception of his remains, was built 
upon the Public Square, and there he was temporarily 
laid, on Saturday, September 24th. For two days the 
body lay in state, with a guard of honor ever present; 
wmile thousands and thousands of mourners passed by, 
for a final glance at the one they had come to know so 
well. The final services were held on Monday, the 26th. 
A hundred thousand people came to the city, and twice 
that number were reverent witnesses of the ceremonies. 

These were conducted by Dr. J. P. Robison. A hymn 
was sung by the Cleveland Vocal Society. A selection 
from the Scriptures was read by the Right Rev. G. T. 
Bedell, and prayer offered by Rev. Ross C. Houghton. 
An address was delivered by Rev. Isaac Errett, of Cin- 
cinnati, who had been one of Garfield's life-long friends. 
When he concluded, Rev. Jabez Hall read Garfield's fa- 
vorite hymn, which was then sung by the Cleveland Vocal 
Society, and prayer and benediction, by the Rev. Charles 
S. Pomeroy, followed. 

At twelve o'clock, the great procession and escort of 
honor — some five miles in length — was formed, and 
moved out to Lake View Cemetery, where further services 
were held, and the honored remains found a temporary 
resting place in a vault, until the tomb, which the people 
had already decreed should be erected for him, should be 
ready for occupancy. 

When it was learned that President Garfield would be 
buried in Lake View Cemetery, a movement was at once 
set on foot to raise funds for a fitting monument. A 
meeting was held, and J. H. Wade, H. B. Payne, and Jos- 
eph Perkins were made a committee to solicit money from 
the entire nation for this purpose. Through the public 
press, through circulars, and other proper means that 
suggested themselves to the enterprising committee, the 
country was called upon to contribute to this praiseworthy 
purpose. It was found, however, that the importance of 



454 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



the undertaking demanded a more businesslike system 
than had yet been employed, and, in June, 1882, the Gar- 
field National Monument Association was incorporated, 
under the laws of Ohio. It was composed of the follow- 
ing prominent Ohioans: Governor Charles B. Foster, ex- 
President Rutherford B. Hayes, Senator Henry B. Payne, 
J. H. Wade, Joseph Perkins, T. P. Handy, D. P. Eells, 




THE GARFIELD MONUMENT. 



W. S. Streator, J. H. Devereux, Selah Chamberlain, 
John D. Rockefeller, John Hay, and J. H. Rhodes. On 
July 6, 1882, an executive committee, with J. H. Rhodes 
as its secretary, was formed. Active measures were at 
once taken, and soon the sum of §150,000 was at the dis- 
posal of the association. Of this, Cleveland contributed 
$75,000; Ohio, $14,000; New York, $14,000; Illinois, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 45s 



$5,500; Iowa, 83,000; Pennsylvania, J>l,8oO; Wisconsin, 
$2,000; Maine, Si, 600; Kansas, $1,500; Indiana. 81,400; 
Connecticut. 81,000; Montana, 81,900. The rest came, 
in varying- sums, from the other States and Territories. 
In June, 1883, a committee composed, of Joseph Perkins, 
H. B. Hurlburt and John Hay, issued, an invitation to 
architects and artists to submit plans for the monument. 
Prizes of Si, 000, $750 and. 8500 would be awarded. More 
than fifty designs were submitted. They were examined 
by Henry Van Brunt, of Boston, and Calvert Vaux, of 
Xew York, the most eminent architects in the country. 
Each made a separate trip to Cleveland, and an individual 
decision, but both selected the design of George Keller, 
of Hartford, Connecticut, and on July 21, 1883, it was 
formally accepted. In October, 1885, the contract for 
masonry^ was given to Thomas Simmons. Work was 
started, in due season, but a rumor was soon current that 
the foundations were insecure. Finally r , the local Civil 
Engineer's Club made an examination, and reported that 
all was safe. A like report was also made by General 
W. J. Mc Alpine, of New York, a national authority^ on 
foundations. Notwithstanding this, the committee, at its 
annual meeting in 1886, changed the design, reducing the 
height of the tower from 225 feet to 165 feet, and sup- 
planting the castellated form with a conical roof. 

May 30, 1890, the monument was formally dedicated. 
President Benjamin Harrison, Vice-President L. P. Mor- 
ton, and a host of other celebrities, were present. The 
ceremonies were held in Lake View Cemetery T . They 
were simple, but impressive. Ex- President Hayes pre- 
sided, the opening prayer was made by Bishop Leonard, 
and ex-Governor Jacob D. Cox, the orator of the day, 
made an eloquent address. Brief speeches were also 
made by Vice President Morton, Governor J. D. Camp- 
bell, General William T. Sherman, Secretary William 
Windom, Attorney-General Miller, Secretary Rusk, 
Bishop Gilmour, General Schofield, and Hon. William Mc- 
Kinley. Then the Knights Templar, of the Grand Com- 



45<> THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

mandery, concluded the ceremonies, with their impressive 
service. There were over 5,000 men in line for the pro- 
cession. 

The monument is erected in the loftiest and most beau- 
tiful spot in Lake View Cemetery. Its shape, for the 
most part, is that of a tower, fifty feet in diameter. Steps 
lead to the landing, which is constructed about the base 
of the building. A romanesque porch supports the tower. 
Below the porch railing, there is an external decoration, 
a frieze of historical character, showing in its five panels 
characteristic scenes from Garfield's life. The great doors 
of oak open in a vestibule vaulted in stone, and paved 
with mosaic. From this, spiral staircases ascend the 
tower, and descend to the crypt. In this crypt is the cas- 
ket containing the coffin. Opening from this vestibule, 
is the chamber where the statue, by Alexander Doyle, of 
New York, stands. It shows Garfield in the House of 
Representatives. Over the statue, supported by granite 
columns, is a dome twenty-two feet in diameter, which 
is decorated with a marvelous frieze of Venetian glass, 
showing an allegorical funeral procession of the dead 
President. The tower has thirteen magnificent memorial 
windows, from the original thirteen States. The monu- 
ment is built of native sandstone. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

IcScSo — A WONDERFUL DECADE — 189O. 

In a record of this character — a history of the creation 
and 'growth of a great city, — the individual of necessity 
disappears as the many appear, and incidents of a personal 
nature give place to events of sufficient importance to 
be of interest to all. Generalization, therefore, replaces 
specifications. Lorenzo Carter, in the Cleveland of 1800, 
was larger, relatively, than any one man could be in 
Cleveland to-day. James Kingsbury, sitting with gun in 
hand, on a log in the snowy silence of the Conneaut woods, 
waiting for some stray bird or beast, whose flesh could 
save the life of his wife, was a picturesque figure, because 
he was a solitary speck upon a bleak and inhospitable 
pioneer landscape; — the picture, in all these cases, is 
striking, because of its setting, and also because of the 
time that has passed, and the things that have been 
done, since it was drawn. 

The life of a pioneer village is told in these incidents ; 
that of a great city by its achievements, and the impress 
it has made upon the civilization of which it is a part. A 
bird's-eye view should, therefore, be taken from time to 
time, that advances may be noted, and a full understand- 
ing had, of the uses made of the natural and artificial op- 
portunities at hand. 

The early days of that decade running from 1880 to 
1890, seem a fitting point for a brief retrospect of this 
character. It was the duty of the writer to prepare a 
somewhat extended paper upon Cleveland at that period, 41 
in which these words were used : ' ' The history of Cleve- 
land has been that of all great cities. There have been 

41 "The Forest City: A Picture of the Past, Present and Future of 
Cleveland;" by J. H. Kennedy. — " Chicago Inter-Ocean," March 31, 18S3. 



458 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 




many times, when her growth was so slow, and uncertain, 
that she gave promise of no great development, but some 
unexpected season of general prosperity would arise, 
some new avenue of business would open, or some new 
railroad come in to add to the territory open to her enter- 
prise. The last stage of doubting was passed, years ago, 

and now it seems impossible 
for anything to arise that can 
stand as a bar to her progress. 
Her population is so great [po- 
lice census enumeration for 
1883 gave 194,684], her in- 
vested capital so immense, 
her footing so firmly estab- 
lished, in the line of manu- 
facturing, and her lines of 
communication with produ- 
cing and purchasing centers 
so well developed and main- 
tained, that it would be diffi- 
cult for any disaster to crush her, or any rivalry to break 
her hold. In short, the visitor who looks about the place 
says to himself : ' The signs indicate a transition state from 
the higher degrees of villagehood, and a passage to the 
glory and vigor of cityhood. ' The fact is, that a new 
spirit of enterprise, of improvement, and of push, has 
been breathed into the business men and the men of 
money, and the last suggestions of old-fogyism are being 
blown to the winds." Let Greater Cleveland witness 
whether there was a touch of prophecy in that statement 
of thirteen years ago. 

Suppose that visitor of 1883 had come into the city 
from the old "Pilgrim's Rest," up by Tinker's Creek, 
and followed the wandering Cuyahoga River in its course, 
what would he have seen? 

In that sometimes murky and clouded valley of the 
river, he would have found the industrial heart, and a 
great portion of the manufacturing strength of Cleve- 



MAYOR R. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. ./jq 



land. Hundreds of acres, stretching from the lake front 
to the outer city limits, would have been seen covered 
with shipyards, lumber-yards, planing-mills, freight- 
depots, roundhouses, iron-mills, furnaces, oil-works, 
factories, in which were made almost all the things possi- 
ble in wood or iron, or a combination of the two; chemi- 
cal-works, foundries, fertilizing-works, brick-yards, and a 
thousand and one small concerns, that worked into com- 
mercial value the refuse from the larger neighbors about 
them. This valley, better known as " The Flats," would 
have been seen moving day and night, — as it still 
moves, — with the motion of ten thousand machines. All 
the railroads dipped into it, carrying millions of loads of 
material in the year, and taking forth uncounted loads of 
goods, ready for the market. Rail and water communica- 
tion were both at hand, and side-tracks interlaced almost 
every acre of its territory. 

Moving to the left, the visitor would have found, 
branching to the w^est from the valley, and followed by 
the track over which the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati 
& Indianapolis Railroad, and the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern Railroad's western division ran, a small and 
sluggish stream — Walworth Run — marking the dividing 
line between the West Side and the elevated plateau lo- 
cally described as the South Side. That run would have 
been found crowded, for a mile and a half, with pork and 
beef slaughter-houses, woolen-factories, ice-houses, and 
various concerns of a similar character. Still further up 
the Cuyahoga Valley would have been found another ar- 
tery, by which a stream of business of diverse kinds 
worked its w r ay into the central heart. At the junction 
of Kingsbury Run w r ith the Cuyahoga River were seen 
the w r orks of the Standard Oil Company, covering many 
acres, and pouring a wave of smoke into the sky. Further 
up the run, were a dozen other refineries and works, tak- 
ing the refuse of the crude oil, after the burning fluid had 
been extracted, and putting it upon the market, in such 
forms as paraffine, naphtha, gasoline, etc. Still further 



4 6o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

up, were other refineries, and where the run erossed the 
Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad tracks, could be found 
a wilderness of tanks, and stills, and oil-houses, showing 
where a host of smaller refineries had made a stand 
against the Standard — some of them afterwards to suc- 
cumb and sell out, some to stand idle, and others to keep 
up the struggle. 

The annexation of East Cleveland and Newburg, 
brought into the city limits many farm lots, which, added 
to the acres and acres held vacant right in the best part 
of the city, by the Payne and Case estates, gave to Cleve- 
land, even of 1876 or later, the appearance of a series of de- 
tached villages, where much growth would be necessary 
before it could justify its widely-extended boundary lines. 

Much of this had been changed, in the half-dozen years 
preceding the date at which our visitor is supposed to 
have taken his bird's-eye view (1883). Hundreds of resi- 
dences, and scores of business blocks, and factories, had 
crowded in upon the vacant spaces. The death of Leon- 
ard Case had thrown the immense Case commons into 
the market. The large Water Cure tract had been al- 
lotted and sold ; the wide vacant spaces along the Cleve- 
land & Pittsburg Railroad tracks, from Case avenue to 
Newburg, had been covered with factories and oil works ; 
many great business blocks had given the older part of 
the city a metropolitan appearance. 

This brief review can be completed, by quoting a sum- 
mary of the business of Cleveland, at this date, from the 
article to which reference was made a feAv pages before : 
''An early start had something to do with Cleveland's 
Qfrowth, but location has a orreat deal more. The citv is 
the nearest and most convenient point where the iron 
ores from Lake Superior can be met by the limestone, 
coke and coal needed to the making of commercial iron. 
The fleet of vessels that are engaged in the carrying of 
this ore to Cleveland harbor demonstrates this fact, as 
nothing else could. The furnaces, rolling-mills, steel- 
mills, and scores of factories, for special iron goods, that 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 461 

can be seen in all parts of the city, prove that fact to a 
certainty. The ore is met here by the coal from the Ma- 
honing, Massillon, Tuscarawas and Pennsylvania districts, 

and the limestone from the Lake Erie islands, and the 
south Lake Erie shores. No better distributing- point 
could be discovered; land is comparatively cheap, and 
taxes comparatively low. All these things have united 
to develop enterprise here at home, and invite it from 
abroad." A few condensed figures from Cleveland's 
commercial record of 1882 will show the truth of the 
above : 

Iron and steel products $ 4,800,000 

Sales of stoves 1,350,000 

Railway equipments 12,000,000 

Nuts, bolts, etc 2,300,000 

Machinery 42,000,000 

Manufactures of brass 850,000 

Sales of dry goods 8,000,000 

Sales of groceries 8,000,000 

Paints and varnishes 500,000 

Boot and shoe business 3,500,000 

Electric light business 2,000,000 

Hardware business 1,000,000 

Cars and bridges 950,000 

Clothing, woolens and cloaks 6,950,000 

Millinery and fancy goods 3,800,000 

Steel springs 350,000 

Carriages 800,000 

Furniture 1,500,000 

Fertilizers 500,000 

These figures cover, of course, only the leading indus- 
tries, as there was an endless variety of small occupations, 
of which no census could be taken. Over 1,000,000 tons 
of coal were handled, in 1882; over 7,000,000 barrels of 
crude oil refined into various products; 4,500,000 barrels 
made; over 600 tons of fresh fish handled; 200,000,000 
feet of lumber handled; nearly 2,000,000 pounds of to- 
bacco manufactured; 300,000 barrels of flour made. The 
report of the Cleveland Custom House, for 1882, gave the 
following totals of the business done through the harbors 
of Cleveland, Lorain, Conneaut, and Ashtabula — the three 



462 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

last named. being in this district, and furnishing a com- 
paratively small portion of the total : Receipts, coastwise, 
$54,480,006; shipments, coastwise, $36,449,853: foreign 
entered, $586,207; foreign cleared, $440,354; coastwise 
vessels entering during the year, 4,374, of a tonnage of 
1,927,863; cleared coastwise, 3,938, of a tonnage of 
1,825,218. 

Passing from this summary, once more, to the detailed 
record, we find one main point of interest connected w r ith 
an important change of management of the public schools. 
We have seen the superintendency of Andrew Freese, fol- 
lowed by those of L. M. Oviatt, of Anson Smyth, and of 
Andrew J. Rickoff, whose term of superintendent ex- 
tended from 1867 to 1882. Mr. Rickoff's services to our 
public school system can hardly be overestimated. 
Spurred on by his energy, a large number of excellent 
school buildings were erected, several of them after plans 
of his own. The course of study w r as systemised and 
improved ; the classification of pupils was revised, twelve 
grades being placed together in three main groups — 
Primary, Grammar, and High School grades : separate 
schools for the sexes were abolished; women principals 
were employed ; the city was divided into districts, each 
being under the direct care of a supervising principal; 
German was introduced into the course of study; and 
more direct attention paid to music and drawing. 4 ' 2 The 
Normal (now Training) School was established, for the 
purpose of furnishing the schools with well-trained and 
thoroughly-equipped teachers. 4 ^ During Mr. Rickoff's 

42 The able corps of assistants who aided in this work of placing the 
schools of Cleveland upon a modern basis were: H. M. James and L. W. 
Day, supervising principals ; L. R. Klemm and A. J. Esch, special super- 
intendents of German; Harriet L. Keeler and Kate S. Brennan, super- 
visors of primary instruction ; Frank Aborn, special teacher of drawing; 
N. Coe Stewart, special teacher of music ; A. P. Root and A. A. Clark, 
of penmanship. 

43 The great value of this school was shown by Superintendent Hins- 
dale, who said in his report for 1SS6, that of the 603 teachers in the schools 
in the year before, 240 were graduates of the Normal School ; that the 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



4<>3 



administration, the number of teachers in the schools in- 
creased from 123 to 473; and the pupils from 9,643 to 
26,990. It was generally admitted that the schools of the 
city had reached a high grade of efficiency. A diploma 

was received from the Vienna Exposition, for a display of 
plans of buildings; the Cleveland schools were placed at 
the head of the list, in a report to the committees of 




THE STILLMAN HOTEL. 



Council on Education for England ; the French Commis- 
sioners placed the Cleveland schoolhouses ahead of all 
American competitors ; while one English expert declared 
with enthusiasm, that Cleveland had the best schools in 

school had ' ' strongly tended to raise the standard of general culture and 
of professional ability of the teachers." The successive principals of this 
school have been : Alexander Forbes, Elroy M. Avery, Oliver Arey, Ellen 
G. Reveley, and Lemira W. Hughes. 



464 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



the world. The work of the Cleveland schools stood in 
the first rank, in the educational exhibits of the Centen- 
nial Exposition of 1876. 

On the retirement of Mr. Rickoff, he was succeeded by 
B. A. Hinsdale, whose administration extended from 1882 
to 1886. The new incumbent was widely known, as 
president of Hiram College, and as a writer upon educa- 
tional and historical subjects. He attempted no marked 
changes of management, following the general lines laid 
down by his predecessor; but endeavored to keep clear 
of routine methods of thought and instruction — giving 
the pupils not only good teaching, but leading them to 
think and reason upon their own responsibility; make 
the system more elastic, and freer from set rules of in- 
struction. The main features of his administration can 
be learned from the following figures : The increase in 
the number of pupils, from 1882 to 1886, was from 26,990 
to 32,814; fourteen fine school buildings were erected ; the 
night schools increased from one to nine ; and the average 
attendance, in all of the schools, was materially increased. 

Superintendent Hinsdale was succeeded, in 1886, by L. 
W. Day, who had been for years an efficient supervisor 
of instruction. The later superintendents have been as 
follows: Andrew S. Draper, 1892 to 1894; L. H. Jones, 
1894 to date. The changes, in time past, in the manage- 
ment of the schools have been noted already, and yet 
another was made on March 8, 1892, when the Ohio 
Legislature passed an act, providing for the reorganization 
of the Cleveland Board of Education. It was decreed 
that all legislative authority should be vested in a school 
council of seven members, elected at large, and all exec- 
utive authority in a school director, who also should be 
elected by popular vote. All subordinates were to be ap- 
pointed by the director, with the exception of the teach- 
ers, who were to be selected by the superintendent of in- 
struction, who, in turn, was to be chosen by the school 
director. The city auditor, city treasurer, and corpo- 
ration counsel, were to occupy the same respective re- 



THE ///six )R y OF ( 7- /■: i /:/.. i x/>. & 



lations to the school department. On March 17. [893, 
the Legislature passed an act establishing a sinking fund, 
to provide for the then outstanding bonded indebtedness 
of the school department. The following gentlemen were 
appointed members of the board of eommissioners having 
that fund in charge: S. W. Sessions, Myron T. Herrick, 
Albert L. Withington, William F. Carr, and William J. 
Morgan. 44 

A leading event of 1 883 was the campaign so vigorous- 
ly carried on, with Cleveland as headquarters, for the 
passage of an amendment to the Constitution of Ohio for- 
bidding the liquor business. The Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union of Ohio had urged the matter with 
such vigor that the Legislature submitted to the people 
two amendments to the Constitution, one removing from 
that document the declaration that there should be no 
liquor licenses granted in the State, and placing the whole 
matter in the hands of the Legislature, and the other to- 
tally forbidding the making or selling of intoxicating 
liquors to be used as a beverage. 45 

The temperance women of Ohio went to work to per- 
suade the voters to support this Second Amendment. 
The State headquarters of the union were in Cleveland, 
with Mary A. Woodbridge in charge. The local union 
worked with earnestness in assistance, under the oaiidinof 
spirit of F. Jennie Duty, one of the early "crusaders," 
and a foremost spirit in the founding and management of 
the Friendly Inns. 

The campaign was conducted with an earnestness and 

44 The figures here given are from the annual report of the school de- 
partment for the year ending August 31, 1S95: Enumeration of children 
of school age, 91,453; registered in the elementary and high schools, 
48,345; attending the Normal Training School, 231 ; average daily attend- 
ance in all the schools, 36,540; average number of teachers employed 
during the year, 1,048. 

45 The wording of this proposed amendment was as follows: " The 
manufacture of and traffic in intoxicating liquors to be used as a beverage 
are forever prohibited ; and the General Assembly shall provide by law 
for the enforcement of this provision." 



4 66 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



effective vigor that was an object-lesson to politicians of 
the other sex and of more extended political experience. 
Mass meetings were held in the Tabernacle every Sab- 
bath evening. Services were held in the churches on 
Sabbath mornings and week-day evenings, at which the 
Second Amendment was preached about and prayed over. 
Out-door meetings were held again and again. " Second 
Amendment ' ' wagons were sent about the streets to at- 
tract attention to these gatherings; the "Second Amend- 
ment Herald" was founded, and its circulation reached 
many thousands. Active organizations were formed in 

every ward, women were 
pledged to work all day at 
the polls ; pamphlets, cir- 
culars, and tracts were pre- 
pared and sent out, by 
hundreds of thousands. 4a 
The services of a great 
many men in sympathy 
with the movement were 
enlisted, and an advisory 
committee was formed, con- 
sisting of the following 
well-known gentlemen : 
Joseph Perkins, J. D. 
Rockefeller, E. C. Pope, W. H. Doan, J. B. Meriam, Ed- 
ward S. Meyer and Alva Bradley. Mr. Perkins and Mr. 
Rockefeller gave not only of their time and advice, but 
also quite largely of their money, to aid a cause in which 
both took such personal interest. 

Election day arrived, and the great question was put to 
the decisive test of the ballot box. The excitement and 
labor in Cleveland were duplicated in all parts of the 
State. " In thirteeen wards in this city," writes Miss 

46 " In ten weeks," says one historian of this great movement, " 1,372.- 
370 pages of Second Amendment literature was given out by the Cleveland 
W. C. T. U." This is from an article entitled, " History of the Second 
Amendment Campaign in Cleveland," by F. Jennie Duty, in "Amend- 
ment Herald " of March 13, 1884. 




MAYOR JOHN H. FARLEY 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 4 (> 7 

Duty, in the account heretofore referred to, "the women 
were at the polls on election day. They had rented 

stores, or obtained rooms in houses opposite or very near 
the polling places, and fitted them up for W. C. T. U. 
headquarters. These were decorated, in a womanly fash- 
ion, with banners, mottoes, flags and flowers. This was 
accomplished the day before election, and at six o'clock 
the next morning the women were at the polling places. 
In a few wards they did not go out upon the sidewalk, but 
remained within their headquarters, served lunches to the 
workers, and talked with those who came to them." 

So far as practical results were concerned, this earnest 
labor went for naught. Both amendments were lost, the 
vote in the State standing as follows : Whole number of 
votes cast in the State. 721,310; for the First Amend- 
ment, 99.849; for the Second, 323,189. The whole num- 
ber of votes cast in Cuyahoga County: 39,514; for the 
First Amendment, 2,850; for the Second, 12,954. 

A great flood in the Cuyahoga Valley, accompanied by 
fire, was also among the events of importance in 1883. 
Heavy rains in early February had swollen the river to 
many times its usual size, and a rise of ten feet in near 
twice that many hours caught many unawares, and almost 
at one sweep lumber, to the value of three hundred thou- 
sand dollars, was swept out into the lake. Damage was 
done all over the Flats, bridges carried away, railroad 
embankments washed out, vessels wrecked, and, finally, 
damage by fire. A tank of five thousand barrels of oil 
blew up in the Great Western Oil Works, and the burning 
oil spread over the rushing waters. Next below were the 
paraffine works of Meriam & Morgan, which were set on 
fire by the burning oil; and the destruction of the im- 
mense works of the Standard Oil Company seemed immi- 
nent. Some of the outworks were burned, and only a 
culvert that had become gorged with lumber saved the 
manv acres of stills and buildings from entire destruc- 
tion. It was a scene that will never be forgotten, by the 
thousands who gazed upon it — the valley under water, 



468 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



and the whole expanse lighted tip by the burning of 
acres of oil spread out upon the waters. The loss, from 
flood and fire, reached nearly three quarters of a million 
dollars. 

A still greater and more dangerous conflagration upon 
the Flats, and one that for a time threatened the destruc- 
tion of the business portion of the city, occurred in the 
year following, on the evening of Sunday, September 7, 
1884. The fire, which was believed to have been the 
work of incendiaries, commenced in the lumber yards of 
Woods, Perry & Company. The great piles of lumber all 
about were in a blaze in a moment, and although the 
firemen were upon the ground at the earliest possible mo- 
ment, the conflagration was beyond their control. Al- 
most in an instant, acres and acres, upon the south side of 
the river, covered with lumber and planing mills, were 
in one huge blaze. The flames swept down upon the 
docks, across the river to a lard refinery, and seemed de- 
termined to sweep straight across to Superior street, and 
destroy all that great business section. By this time, the 
entire city department had been pressed into service ; 
dispatches asking for aid had been sent to Akron, Tole- 
do, Painesville, Youngstown and other neighboring cities, 
and by eleven o'clock nine steamers had been rushed in 
by train and were at work. The local militia were or- 
dered under arms, to protect property, and give their serv- 
ice, if the need should arise. Anxious thousands lined 
the hillsides, all about the valley. It was well toward 
Monday morning before the heroic efforts of the firemen 
were crowned with success, and the fire was under con- 
trol. The losses in this great conflagration amounted to 
$801,250. 

It was, also, in 1884, on January 5th, that Cleveland's 
second venture in modern theatres, the Park Theatre, 
suffered almost total destruction by fire. A very attract- 
ive structure had been erected on the north side of the 
Public vSquare, during the summer preceding, by Henry 
Wick, and successfully opened on October 22nd, under the 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 469 



management of A. P. Hartz. On the date above men- 
tioned, an explosion of gas set the whole interior on fire, 
and in a few minutes nothing was left but the outside 
walls. It was fortunately in the forenoon, so that there 
was no loss of life. The First Presbyterian Church, ad- 
joining it, was also damaged, to the extent of twenty thou- 
sand dollars. The theatre was rebuilt in 1885. 4 ' 

Still another change in the courts having direct juris- 
diction in Cuyahoga Countv was made in the fall of [884, 
in obedience to an amendment to the State Constitution. 
The election for judges of the newly-established Circuit 
Court occurred in the fall of the year named, the first sit- 
ting occurring in February, 1885. This court succeeded 
the District Court, which had gone out of existence. 
The first judges elected for the Sixth Judicial District, 
having jurisdiction in the counties of Cuyahoga, Summit, 
Lorain, Huron, Medina, Erie, Sandusky, Ottawa, and Lu- 
cas, were William H. Upson, Charles C. Baldwin and 
George R. Haynes. The circuit was so changed, in 1888, 
as to comprise only the counties of Cuyahoga, Lorain, 
Summit and Medina. As this placed Judge Haynes in 

47 In this connection the actual fire losses in Cleveland since 1S54 may 
be of interest : 

1854 — 8302,724.76 1S68 — 8300,451.76 

1555 — 96,00s. 6S 1S69 — 196,985.19 

1556 — 115,342.40 1S70 — 378,635.61 

1557— 88,765.55 1S71— 300,453.77 
1S5S — 29,050.80 1S72 — 309,725.22 

1559— 50,903.50 1S73— 348,410.94 

1560 — 35,506.80 1S74 — 641,504.37 

1561 — 102,045.50 1875 — 137,102.66 
1862 — 87,150.28 1876 — 253,559.75 

1563 — 96,008.6s 1S77 — 25,910.00 

1564 — 115,360.50 1S7S — 207,836.95 

1565— 261,341.4s 1S79— 2i5,357-9 6 

1566 — 173,990.62 18S0 — 268,799.58 

1567 — 206,902.83 1881 — 365,400.5s 
By the courtesy of A. I. Truesdell, secretary of the Cleveland Board of 

Underwriters, the following points of information can be added: The 
amount of premiums written in Cleveland in fire insurance during 1S95, 
was a little over Si, 250,000. Losses for the past twelve or thirteen years 
have averaged about 60 per cent. 



1SS2 — s 


364,646.0s 


IS83— 


502,449.92 


ISS4— I 


.522.861.84 


ISS5— 


429,241.73 


ISS6— 


105,879.39 


ISS7— 


277-573-IO 


iSSS— 


541.248.85 


1889— 


373,009.8s 


IS90 — 


30S.4S2.03 


IS9I — I 


,076,260.01 


IS92 — I 


,482,020.79 


IS93— 


684,472.16 


IS94— 


643,012.90 


1895— 


524,014.23 



47 o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



another circuit, Hugh J. Caldwell was elected as his suc- 
cessor. The work assigned this court was the reviewing 
of the action in the lower courts, in such cases as were 
carried up on appeal, or otherwise. 

An incident connected with the legal profession of 
Cleveland occurred in 1885, illustrative of the fact that 
the modern woman — not then classified as the "new" 
woman — was invading, as never before, the professions 
previously followed exclusively by the men. This was 
the appearance of the first woman lawyer in Cleveland. 
Mary P. Spargo, who had been born in this city, and was 
educated in its schools, determined to fit herself for the 
practice of the profession, and accordingly, in 1882, en- 
tered the office of Morrow & Morrow, as a student. In 
1885, shew as admitted to practice by the Ohio Supreme 
Court — having been previously refused an appointment 
as notary public, on the ground that the constitution 
would not permit it — and opened an office in Cleveland. 
Of her success in the early days of the venture it has 
been said: "It was Miss Spargo 's intent and expectation 
that her clientage would be among her own sex. But 
while her practice is, and has been, largely among 
women, yet it has been by no means confined to them; 
neither has it confined itself to a round of clerical or sub- 
ordinate duties. It may be said, with entire justification, 
that in the four years of her practice, she has managed, 
and settled, as great a variety of cases as usually falls to 
the lot of any young attorney." 

Still following the records of the courts, we find a law 
passed by the State Legislature, in 1886, which quite ma- 
terially affected the interests of that humble, but very use- 
ful, portion of the judiciary, the justices of the peace. It 
was decreed that in place of fees, upon which these offi- 
cials had subsisted from time immemorial, salaries should 
be paid — eighteen hundred dollars per annum for the 
justice, six hundred for clerk hire, three hundred for 
office rent. All fees, etc., were to be paid into the city 
treasury. 



THE HISTORY ()/■ CLEVELAND. 77/ 

An entertaining chapter could be written upon the jus- 
tice courts of Cleveland, that had their origin back in 
those early days of the township, of which we have al- 
ready written, when James Kingsbury first sat upon this 
bench of the court of first resort; where he was soon 
joined by Rodolphus Edwards, Timothy Doan, and other 
pioneers, who knew more about farming and woodcraft 
than they did of law. 48 Ashbel W. Walworth was five 
times elected to the office. Harvey Rice donned the cloak 
of office only two years after reaching Cleveland. From 
1826 to 1840. we find these familiar names upon the list: 
E. Waterman, Varnum Card, Job Doan, Samuel Under- 
bill, Gerdon Fitch, Andrew Cozad, A. D. Smith, Porter 
Wells, and George Hoadly — of whose valuable labors in 
this office some mention has already been made. A little 
later came I. F. Benedict, John Day, John Gardner, and 
John Barr — who served three terms, was a noted writer 
upon the early history of Cleveland, and served in other 
offices with credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of the 
people. Later justices, before the period of the Civil War, 
were M. Barnett, Edward Hessenmueller, Isaac Sherman, 
Charles L. Fish, James D. Cleveland, George W. Lynde, 
Geoge B. Tibbetts, Erastus Smith, Almon Burgess, John 
Philpott. George H. Benham, Henry Chapman, Isaac C. 
Vail, John R. Fitzgerald, Madison Miller, Wells Porter, 
and Samuel Foljambe. A full list of the incumbents in 
these later vears, and this large city, can hardly be given, 
but among the best known may be mentioned George 
Hester, George A. Kolbe, George Arnold, Edgar Sowers, 
Homer Strong, David L. Wood, John P. Green (the first 
colored justice of the city); Charles H. Babcock, Felix Nic- 
ola, E. R. Griswold, E. H. Bohm, and Levi F. Bauder. 
Of the record made by these courts, and of the character 
of the justices themselves, it has been well said by one 

4 " The story is told that Edwards wrote out his summons in this original 
form: " In the name of God, amen. Take Notice that We, Rodolphus 
Edwards, a Justice of the Peace by the Grace of the Almighty, do hereby 
Summons you to appear before Us, under dread of Dire penalties and 
Severe tribulations. 



47- 



TH E HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



competent to judge: " Of the majority of the men who, 
in Cuyahoga County, have sat upon this lesser bench, 
there is no reason to feel otherwise than proud. They 
have, with few exceptions, administered the duties of 
their office with discretion and ability. Many of them 
have filled other positions of trust with fidelity and signal 
integrity. All of them have been the people's choice. 
and the people have rarely erred. " 4U 

An event of importance to Cleveland was the pass 
on May 19, 1886, of a law for the creation of a board of 
elections, and the organization of that board, on June 5th. 

The following gentlemen 
were the first members : 
James Barnett, President; 
William W. Armstrong, J. 
H. Schneider, and Herman 
Weber. William J. Glea- 
son was elected Secretarv. 50 
The board was created for 
the purpose of carrying out, 
in this section, the provis- 
ions of the ballot laws of 
Ohio. These laws placed 
the control of all caucuses 
and elections under State 
supervision, and in a large measure eliminated the abuses 
which had crept into the conduct of elections. The board 
has charge of all elections in Cleveland and in Cuvaho^a 
County. There are at present 174 voting precincts in the 
city and 31 in the townships. There are 1,230 election 




MAYOR GEO. W. GARDNER. 



49 " The Justices and their Courts," by W. R. Rose. — " The Bench and 
Bar of Cleveland," p. 59. 

■" The board has had but few changes in membership, in the ten years 
of its existence. Those who have served, or are in service at present, in 
addition to the members above named, are John F. Weh, Victor Gutzweiler, 
W. M. Bayne, Percy W. Rice, Hugh Buckley, Jr., Carl Claussen. Samuel 
Etzensperger, and Edward C. Kenney. Secretary Gleason was succeeded 
by Charles P. Salen, who served from iSgoto 1S94, and who, in turn, was 
succeeded by L. J. Rowbottom, whose term expires in 1S9S. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 473 

officers in the city and townships. The total expenses of 
the hoard in 1895, were $48,987.31, but, in view of re- 
sults, the people seem satisfied that even this large sum 
was not a losing investment. 

The early days of 1887 witnessed the beginning of a se- 
ries of events, connected with the criminal history of 
Cleveland, that attracted widespread attention, and were 
attended by results of a tragical nature. On the night of 
January 29th, burglars entered the fur store of Benedict 
& Reudy, and carried away goods to the value of several 
thousand dollars. The city police were enabled to trace 
the stolen property to the town of Bedford, and from 
thence to Allegheny City, Pa. The police of the city 
last named discovered and arrested one of the robbers, 
Harry McMun, or James Kennedy, and notified Cleve- 
land of that fact. They were not able to find the goods, 
which disappeared, and have never been heard from 
since. 

On February 3rd, Capt. Henry Hoehn, of the Cleveland 
force, went to Allegheny after the prisoner. He was to 
have been accompanied by Detective Jacob J. Lohrer, 
who had obtained the necessary requisition papers ; but 
at the last moment Lohrer was detained, because of an- 
other case in Cleveland, and Detective William H. Hulli- 
gan was sent in his stead. 

The officers left Allegheny City for home, on the mid- 
night train of February 5th, with the prisoner in their 
custody. At three o'clock in the morning, while the 
train was standing at the station in Ravenna, O., they 
were attacked suddenly by three armed men, who shot 
Captain Hoehn in the leg and arm, and struck Detective 
Hulligan with an iron coupling-pin, fracturing his skull. 
The brave Hoehn fought desperately, but was finally 
overcome, while the unconscious Hulligan was dragged 
outside the car, his keys taken from him, and the brace- 
lets that bound him to the prisoner unlocked. The pris- 
oner and his rescuers disappeared in the darkness. 

The wounded officers were brought to Cleveland. Hul- 



474 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

ligan died on February 8th, while Hoehn eventually re- 
covered. 51 

The Cleveland police worked, as never before, for the 
apprehension of the ruffians who had made this murder- 
ous assault upon two of their number. Rewards were 
offered by the City of Cleveland, the county of Cuyahoga, 
the township of Ravenna, and the Cleveland & Pittsburg 
Railway Company. On June 27th, three men, John 
Coughlin, James Robinson, and Charles Morgan — better 
known as " Blinky " Morgan — were arrested by Sheriff 
Lynch, of Alpena, Mich., after a desperate struggle, in 
which the sheriff received a shot in the leg, from which 
he afterward died. All three were identified by Captain 
Hoehn, as belonging to the assaulting party. They were 
brought to Cleveland on July 1st, and taken to Ravenna 
for trial. On November 2nd, Morgan was found guilty f 
murder in the first degree and sentenced to be hanged, 
which sentence was carried into execution in Columbus, 
at the Penitentiary, in the following March. ^ 

51 Henry Hoehn was born in Bavaria, and came to the United States 
when fourteen years of age. He served in the Union Army during the 
Rebellion, making an excellent record, and was mustered out of service 
in August, 1865. On May i, 1866, he was appointed a patrolman on the 
Cleveland police force, and advanced steadily in the line of promotion, be- 
coming a captain in 1S77. On July 1, 1893, he was appointed to the office 
of Superintendent of Police, to succeed Jacob W. Schmitt, resigned. In 
accordance with his own request, Superintendent Hoehn was retired, in 
July, 1S96. Lieutenant George E. Corner was appointed to the vacancy. 

52 The tragedy of which the above was the culmination, was perhaps the 
greatest m the criminal line that has formed a part of the record of Cuya- 
hoga County. Other leading crimes and executions have been as follows : 
James Parks, hanged June 1, 1S55, for the murder of William Beatson; 
John W. Hughes, hanged February 9, 1S66, for the murder of Tamzen 
Parsons; Alexander McConnell, executed August 10, 1S66, for the killing 
of Mrs. William Colvin; Lewis Davis, hanged February 4, 1S69, for the 
killing of David P. Skinner; John Cooper, hanged April 25, 1S72, for 
the murder of a colored man named Swing ; Stephen Hood, hanged April 
20, 1874, for the killing of Green Hood; William Adin, hanged June 
22, 1876, for the murder of his wife, his stepdaughter, and Mrs. George 
L. Benton; Charles R. McGill, hanged February 13, 1S79, for the killing 
of Mary Kelley. This was the last legal hanging ever witnessed in Cuya- 
hoga County, the law being so changed that all executions in Ohio should 
occur within the walls of the State Penitentiary, at Columbus. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 475 



Coughlin and Robinson were also tried and found 
guilty, but a new trial was granted, and as the evidence 
was not considered sufficient for further steps, both were 
set free. 

The Cleveland Board of Industry and Improvement, 
must be counted among the active forces which have been 
at work, in recent years, to keep Cleveland up to the 
level of her great opportunities. In 1887, the so-called 
"Federal plan," for the bettering of Cleveland's form of 
municipal government, was under serious consideration, 
and several meetings in support thereof were held in the 
rooms of the Board of Trade. Out of this grew a propos- 
al to form a Committee of One Hundred, composed of 
business men eminent in commercial, manufacturing and 
mercantile pursuits, who should discuss, investigate and 
aid all possible measures advanced for the city's general 
good. An organization was accordingly formed under 
the above name, the first officers of which were as fol- 
lows : President, James Barnett ; Vice-President, Thomas 
Axworthy; Secretary, X. X. Crum ; Treasurer, Charles H. 
Bulkley. Work of an effective character was commenced, 
and much was done and published showing the outside 
world what Cleveland had to offer to money, industry, or 
inventive genius seeking a location. The summary of 
plan and purpose has been thus tersely stated : 53 k ' Other 
places were offering inducements of all kinds, to gain new 
enterprises, and the call for an organization here to take 
up similar work met with a ready response. A systematic 
plan of action was outlined, and correspondence taken up 
with the promoters of various new enterprises, as well as 
concerns already in operation that were looking to en- 
largement of their operations, through more advantageous 
locations. The new body accomplished a great deal in 
this way." The eventual merging of its work into a 
greater organization, the Chamber of Commerce, will be 
noted at a later point. 

53 " Annual Report of the Trade and Commerce of Cleveland," 1S92, p. 
164. 



47& THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Engineering skill and a wise use of the publie money 
again demonstrated to the world, in 1888, — as down by 
Superior street it had been shown a decade previous, — 
that Cleveland could secure all the advantages to be de- 
rived from the Cuyahoga Valley and, at the same time, 
be relieved from the necessity of descending into it, in 
order to cross from one section of the city to the other. 
The East Side and the West Side had been united by a 
great viaduct, and steps were not long after taken to con- 
nect the important and growing South Side with them 
both. On March 3, 1879, James M. Curtiss, who repre- 
sented the section last named in the City Council, intro- 
duced a resolution directing the city engineer to " report 
the most feasible plan of improving the communication 
between the South Side and the central part of the city." 
This resolution was adopted, but little or nothing seems 
to have been done about it at the time, as the city had not 
yet been fully persuaded that the stone bridge at Supe- 
rior street was a paying investment. 

It was generally agreed, after a time, that the new line 
of elevated communication was a necessity, and steps 
were taken to make Mr. Curtiss 's suggestion effective. 
In 1883, a resolution was passed by the City Council, di- 
recting that the question of an " elevated roadway 
should be submitted to popular vote, at the spring elec- 
tion. It was carried, by a majority of some six hundred. 
A little later, the City Council recommended the"* passage 
of a law appropriating one million dollars for the purpose 
of carrying this verdict into effect. Such law was passed 
with little trouble, and the matter then lay quiet, with 
the exception of discussion as to routes, until July, 1885, 
when the City Council declared in favor of the construc- 
tion of a bridge from near the junction of Ohio street with 
Hill street on the East Side, to Jennings avenue on the 
South Side, the same to be carried in a straight line. An 
ordinance embodying this decision was passed on Decem- 
ber 14, 1885, contracts were let, and the work commenced, 
early in 1886. Ground for the Abbey Street Viaduct was 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 477 



broken on April 26th, and for the main, or Central, on 
May 5th. On December 11, iSSS, the great new struc- 
ture, that hung so lightly and gracefully across the wide 
valley, and so far above the Cuyahoga River, was publicly 
opened and dedicated to the public use. A long proces- 
sion of militia and other troops escorted carriages filled 
with city officials and prominent citizens across the struc- 
ture, moving by way of the three viaducts in the order 
named, Superior, Abbey, and the Central. When Jen- 
nings avenue was reached, the soldiers were drawn up in 
line, and at the very entrance of the Central bridge the 
procession halted, and Zenas King, president of the King 
Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company, in behalf of him- 
self and the other contractors engaged in the construc- 
tion of the work, made a formal speech, transferring to 
Mayor B. D. Babcock the completed structure. When 
Mr. King had completed his remarks, the mayor said: 
"Citizens of Cleveland, in behalf of two hundred and fifty 
thousand people, I accept this bridge and dedicate it to the 
use of the people." 

The procession then moved over to the City Hall, and 
passed in review before the mayor, and other officials and 
guests. In the evening, the event Avas further commemo- 
rated, by a grand banquet at the Hollenden House, Avhere 
fully one hundred and twenty-fiwe of the most prominent 
men of the city sat down. Mayor B. D. Babcock presided, 
and addresses, in response to appropriate toasts, were made 
by Walter P. Rice, city engineer; F. C. McMillin ; Mayor 
Blake, of Canton; M. M. Hobart, James M. Curtiss, W. 
R. Rose, H. M. Clarlen, W. E. Sherwood, John Eisen- 
mann, C. G. Force, and B. F. Morse. The following 
figures as to this great structure, may be of interest in this 
connection : Cost, $675,574; length of the floor of the 
Cuyahoga portion, 2,838 feet; height above city base of 
levels at river, 99 feet 2 inches ; above river at ordinary 
stages, 10 1 feet; height above Nickel Plate railroad 
tracks, 33 feet; length of draw span, 239 feet; width of 
roadway, 40 feet; sidewalks, 8 feet; Walworth Run por- 



478 THE HISTOR V OF CLE V ELAND. 

tion, 1,092 feet long; height above city base of levels, 105 
feet 6 inches ; width of roadway, 40 feet. 

Another event directly connected with municipal Cleve- 
land, but of a far less pleasing character than the opening 
of this great thoroughfare, occurred in the fall of the same 
year — 1888. This was the defalcation and flight of Thomas 
Axworthy, city treasurer. The public record of Cleve- 
land has been comparatively so clean, and malfeasance in 
office so rare, that this occurrence startled the people as 
few things could have done, the more especially as Mr. 
Axworthy had been a trusted and honored citizen for 
years, of the greatest popularity with all classes. He left 
Cleveland on September 28th, and after he had been 
absent some days, rumors began to circulate that all was 
not as it should be, in connection with the city treasury. 
On October 24th, the startling news was published that 
the treasurer had become a defaulter, in the sum of a half 
million dollars, had carried bodily away in his flight two 
hundred thousand dollars, and had sought refuge in a for- 
eign land. It was shown, later, that he had gone to Eng- 
land, taking with him a portion of the missing funds. 
Andrew Squire, as attorney for the treasurer's bondsmen, 
followed him as soon as possible, and opened negotiations 
that ended in Axworthy turning over $160,000, and pos- 
session of all of his property in this city, for the purpose 
of making good the city's loss. 

The misappropriated funds belonged to the city in its 
municipal capacity, and to the Board of Education, the city 
treasurer acting in the same capacity for the school de- 
partment. Neither the city nor the board eventually lost 
anything, except the use of the money while the case was 
in litigation. The actual shortage was found to be some- 
thing over $440,000. In addition to the money turned 
over to Mr. Squire, as above mentioned, Axworthy's 
property in Cleveland was found to be good for about 
$155,000. This left some $125,000, which the treasurer's 
bondsmen made good. During his official life as treas- 
urer, he had given some six bonds, with different bonds- 



THE HISTOR V OF CLE VELA NIK 479 



men, and the shortage was divided among them. These 
gentlemen were Selah Chamberlain, T. P. Handy, James 
F. Clark, J. H. Wade, H. B. Payne, W. J. Gordon, and 
John Tod. 

Cleveland has been enriched, at various times, by the 
magnificent benefactions of her wealthy men, and the 
deeds of Leonard Case, J. H. Wade, John D. Rockefeller, 
W. J. Gordon, Amasa Stone, and others have been men- 
tioned, from time to time, in these pages. In 1889, another 
name was added to this growing list, when John Hunting- 
ton m established a permanent fund, to be known as the 
" John Huntington Benevolent Trust." On March 8th, 
Mr. Huntington invited a number of gentlemen, among 
whom were the proposed custodians of this trust, to his 
residence, where he made a formal statement as to his 
purpose. As trustees, he had chosen Edwin R. Perkins, 
John V. Painter, Samuel E. Williamson, Charles W. 
Bingham, John H. Lowman, Henry C. Ranney, and 
James D. Cleveland. In their hands he placed the sum 
of $200,000, the income of which was to be divided among 
some nineteen public institutions, of a charitable or educa- 
tional character, by him named. 

Yet another donation for public uses was received in 
1890, when Horace Kelley, a member of the well-known 
pioneer family of that name, who was born in the city in 
1 8 19, left a bequest of $500,000, for the founding of a na- 
tional gallery of arts. 

Cleveland was the favored witness, in 1889, of a gather- 
ing out of which has grown one of the most useful and 
influential of the younger church organizations of the 

54 John Huntington was born in Preston, England, on March 8th, 1832. 
He came to America in 1854, and made Cleveland his home; carried on 
a roofing business ; became interested in oil in the early days ; became a 
stockholder in the Standard Oil Company, and made a great fortune. He 
also interested himself in local political affairs at an early date, entered 
the City Council, where he remained for years, and was connected with 
the inception and carrying out of many of Cleveland's most important 
public works. He was always a firm believer in the city's future. Mr. 
Huntington died on January 10th, 1893, in London, England. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



world. On May 14th of that year, there gathered in the 
Central Methodist Episcopal Church, on Willson avenue, 
representatives from various young people's societies of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, for the purpose of tak- 
ing such steps as might bring them all into closer and 
more harmonious relations. The result was that these 
societies were merged into one new organization, — the Ep- 
worth League, — the object of which was declared to be the 
promotion of ''intelligent and loyal piety in the young 
members and friends of the church, to aid them in the 
attainment of purity of heart, and in constant growth in 




CENTRAL METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH * IN 1S89. 

grace, and to train them in works of mercy and help." 55 
A very important change in Cleveland's form of mu- 
nicipal government went into effect in the early days of 
1 89 1. It was the substitution of the so-called " Federal 
plan" for the irregular and somewhat disjointed system 
that had prevailed before. The power that had been scat- 
tered among various officials, commissions and boards was 
concentrated into the hands of two bodies — the legisla- 
tive or City Council, and the executive or Board of Con- 
trol. The change was the result of much discussion and 
long-continued agitation, on the part of the people, and 

* On the site of this church the present handsome Epworth Memorial 
church was erected in 1893. 

55 " Epworth League Workers," by Jacob Embury Price, p. 30. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



481 



through the public press. So far, the new system seems 
to have proven itself a great improvement upon the old. 
The law 56 which authorized this change was passed by 
the Ohio Legislature, in March, 1891, and elections under 
its provisions were held in the April following. Con- 
densed into a brief space, it provided as follows : The 
legislative power and authority to be vested in a council, 
to consist of twenty members, to be elected by districts, 
each of whom should serve for two years. All ordi- 
nances, resolutions or orders to be submitted to the mayor 
for approval, and in case of disapproval, the measure could 
be passed over his veto, by a two-thirds vote. A police 




BIRTHPLACE OF THE EPWORTH LEAGUE. 

force, a fire force, and a health department to be estab- 
lished and maintained. The executive power to be 
lodged in the hands of the mayor and heads of depart- 
ments here named: A mayor, treasurer, police judge, 
prosecuting attorney, and clerk of the police court to be 
chosen by the people at the regular elections. The fol- 
lowing departments to be created: Public works, police, 
fire, accounts, law, and charities and correction. Each was 
to'be in charge of a director, appointed by the mayor, on con- 
firmation by the City Council, for a term ending with that 

■"' This act was entitled: " A Bill to provide a more efficient Government 
for the Cities of the Second Grade of the First Class." Passed March 16, 
1891. — Ohio Laws, Vol. SS, p. 105. 



482 THE HISTOR Y OF CLE VELA ND. 

of the mayor appointing. The mayor to receive a salary 
of six thousand dollars per annum ; the director of law 
five thousand dollars, and each of the other directors 
four thousand. Each member of the City Council was to 
receive five dollars for attendance upon each regular 
meeting. . The mayor and heads of departments to have 
seats in the Council, with the right to take part in its delib- 
erations, but not to vote. The duties of the mayor and 
heads of departments were clearly defined. A Board of 
Control was created, consisting of the mayor and the 
heads of departments above named, to meet at least twice 
each week. A supplementary law, passed April 10, 1891, 
provided that in case of disability or absence of the mayor, 
the duties of his office should devolve upon the heads of 
departments in the order named : Law, public works, 
police, fire, accounts, and charities and correction. 

The first election under this "Federal plan" occurred 
in the April succeeding its passage (1891), and resulted in 
the choice of William G. Rose for mayor. His selections 
for heads of departments were as follows : Law, Edward 
S. Meyer ; public works, R. R. Herrick ; fire service, 
George W. Gardner; 5r police, John W. Gibbons; accounts, 
F. C. Bangs; charities and correction, David Morison. 
William W. Armstrong was elected city treasurer, How- 
ard H. Burgess, city clerk ; C. A. Davidson became presi- 
dent of the City Council, Albert Straus, vice-president; 
and the members of that body were as follows : E. E. 
Beeman, B. W. Jackson, P. J. McKenney, P. C. O'Brien, 
J. C. Farnfield, J. K. Bole, C. A. Davidson, A. J. Michael, 
Albert Straus, Walter I. Thompson, D. O. Caswell, E. C. 
Angell, John Skyrm, M. J. Herbert, Michael Riley, M. 
C. Malloy, John Wilhelm, W. A. Spilker, Jos. J. Ptak, 
and Fred. M. Glessen. 

The Western Reserve Historical Society took a new 

57 When the newly-created Board of Control held its first session, it con- 
tained an unusual amount of municipal experience, having no less than 
three ex-mayors among its members — W. G. Rose, R. R. Herrick, and 
George W. Gardner. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 483 



lease of life, and gave renewed pledges for permanent use- 
fulness by its reorganization and incorporation, in [892. 
As has been previously shown, it was first organized as a 
branch of the Cleveland Library Association (now Case 
Library), under amendments to the constitution of that 
association, which permitted such branches to be formed. 
In the year above named it was thought best that the 
Historical Society should be organized with a separate 
charter, and such step was accordingly taken, in March, 
1892. The incorporators were Henry C. Ranney, D. W. 
Manchester, Amos Townsend, William Bingham, Charles 
C. Baldwin, David C. Baldwin, Percy W. Rice, James D. 
Cleveland, and A. T. Brewer. 58 It was declared that the 
purpose for which the corporation had been formed was 
not for profit, but to ''discover, collect and preserve what- 
ever relates to the history, biography, genealogy and an- 
tiquities of Ohio and the West, and of the people dwelling 
therein, including the physical history and condition of 
the State ; to maintain a museum and library, and to ex- 
tend knowledge upon the subjects mentioned by literary 
meetings, by publications, and by other proper means. ' ' 

A movement was set on foot for the raising of funds, 
with which to purchase for the society the building for- 
merly occupied by the Society for Savings, on the Public 
Square, of which the Historical Society was for years a 
tenant. So earnest was the work of those in charge, and 
so generous the response, that in April, 1892, the transfer 
was made, for the sum of $40,000, and the organization 
found itself in an adequate and well-located home of its 
own. Its range of usefulness has continually widened, 
and new accessions are being made constantly to its 
store-house of treasures. In the latter part of 1895, and 
in the early days of 1896, the exigencies of the occasion 
seemed to make it the part of wisdom to seek a new 
home. Steps were accordingly taken looking toward the 

58 A complete history of this reorganization may be found in the society's 
publications, Tract No. 85, entitled "Charter and Reorganization of the 
Society, 1891-92." 



484 THE^ HISTOR V OF CLE V ELAND. 

sale of the society's property on the Public Square for the 
use of the proposed Chamber of Commerce building, and 
the finding of a new home in East Cleveland, in the vicin- 
ity of Wade Park. 

It would be difficult to name an institution within the 
limits of Cleveland that deserves a more generous support 
than the Western Reserve Historical Society. Its useful- 
ness is apparent. A summary of its treasures has recent- 
ly been made by a gentleman 59 whose enthusiasm is begot- 
ten of knowledge, and whom I am permitted to quote 
here: "In cooperation with the managers of Case Li- 
brary, the Western Reserve Historical Society has col- 
lected books and pamphlets along many special lines, 
which cannot now be duplicated in the other libraries. It 
already has about 10,000 volumes of bound books, and 
more than 10,000 pamphlets and magazines of great his- 
torical value, besides more than 1,000 bound volumes of 
newspapers, in which both the local and general history 
of the country is kept within reach of historians and in- 
vestigators. Its collection of maps also, numbering more 
than 1,000, is not to be excelled anywhere in the West. 
Many of these are of the townships of the Western Re- 
serve, made by the original surveyors, and which cannot 
be duplicated. These are often of untold value to attor- 
neys in settling early titles to land. The Society has 
also a large collection of autographs of early statesmen, 
while its collection of genealogical literature is one of 
the largest in the country. This is consulted constantly, 
by an increasing circle of patrons desirous of knowing 
their early family history. The museum proper is of the 
very greatest interest and value. To it belong the last 
memorials of President Garfield. On its walls are pre- 
served a large number of portraits of the pioneers and 
most distinguished men of Cleveland, and of the Western 
Reserve. To it belongs Colonel Whittlesey's remarkable 
collection of relics of the early copper miners in the Lake 
Superior region, together with various large collections of 

59 " Precious Records." — " Cleveland Plain Dealer," May 20, 1895. 



THE HISTOR V OF C 7. E I 'INLAND. 4S5 



stone and flint implements from Ohio and other parts of 
the world, which money could not purchase. Among 
them is a unique collection of paleolithic implements, from 
Europe, and Trenton, N. J., including the celebrated 
Newcomerstown paleolith, presented by Mr. Mills. A 
good authority has estimated that $1,000,000 would not 
gather so valuable a collection and library as that which 
is now owned by the society, while much of it is of mate- 
rial which could not be duplicated. ' ' 

The society has also gathered, from various sources, 
the publications of the United States Government, to the 
number of thirty-three thousand volumes. It has recent- 
ly been made a United States depository, and will here- 
after regularly receive all such publications. 60 

60 The Society is still in able hands, the officers (April, 1896) being as 
follows : President, Henry C. Ranney ; corresponding secretary, Albert L. 
Withington ; recording secretary, Wallace H. Cathcart ; treasurer, Horace 
B. Corner; librarian and curator, Peter Neff. Mr. Neff is industriously 
and intelligently devoted to his responsibilities as executive officer, and 
the writer is under obligation to him, in connection with various points 
of information in the present work. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

IN GREATER CLEVELAND. 

In the record of 1848, mention was made of the found- 
ing of the Cleveland Board of Trade, and the time has 
come to redeem the promise there made, and show to what 
useful extent that humble association has grown. A law 
was passed by the Ohio Legislature, in 1866, recognizing 
such organizations and providing for their government. 
The Board of Trade, accordingly, on April 5th of the year 
named, surrendered its articles of association, and reor- 
ganized under the new law, becoming a chartered institu- 
tion, with the name of the "Board of Trade of the City of 
Cleveland." The objects of this association were de- 
clared to be the promotion of integrity, good faith and 
equitable principles of business; "to discover and correct 
abuses ; to establish and maintain uniformity in commer- 
cial usages ; to acquire, preserve and disseminate valuable 
business statistics and information ; to prevent or adjust 
controversies and misunderstandings which may arise be- 
tween persons engaged in trade, and generally to foster, 
protect and advance the commercial, mercantile and 
manufacturing interests of the city." 

Daily meetings were held at that time in the Atwater 
Building, on Superior street. There were but twenty 
members in the new organization. 61 By 1892, its mem- 

61 The names attached to this charter of 1S66 were as follows: Philo 
Chamberlain, A. V. Cannon, R. T. Lyon, E. D. Childs, J. C. Sage, W. F. 
Otis, A. Hughes, M. B. Clark, C. W. Coe, W. Murray, H. S. Davis, S. F. 
Lester, J. E. White, A. Quinn, J. H. Clark, George W. Gardner, S. W. 
Porter, E. C. Hardy, H. D. Woodward, and George Sinclair. Mr. Weath- 
erly held the office of president from 184S to 1864, when he was succeeded 
by S. F. Lester. The presidents of the board, and of the Chamber of 
Commerce, its successor, from 1848 to 1896, with the year of election, have 
been as follows: 1848, Joseph L. Weatherly; 1864, S. F. Lester; 1865 
Philo Chamberlain; 1867, W. F. Otis; 1868, George W. Gardner; 1869, 



THE HISTi >RY t )F < LEVELAND. 487 



bership had grown to 485, and a surplus of $20,000 had 
been laid aside, for the purchase of a site and the erec- 
tion of a building. 

With the growth of the city, and a realization of the 
needs of Greater Cleveland, came the desire to make this 
commercial organization more useful, and to increase the 
scope of its work. "In August of this year," says the 
report for 1892, "the Committee on the Promotion of In- 
dustry began the collection of what is known as the busi- 
ness men's fund, and the organization of a movement, 
within the Board of Trade, made up of subscribers to this 
fund. ' ' Through earnest work on the part of a few active 
members of the board, this fund ran up to a considerable 
sum of money in a short period. Seven business men, 
from among the subscribers to the fund, were added to the 
original Board of Trade committee, and a new general 
committee formed, as follows, to conduct the industrial 
work: Wilson M. Day, Chairman; L. E. Holden, Vice- 
Chairman; George T. Mcintosh, Secretary; H. R. Groff, 
Treasurer ; A. J. Wright, Michael Baackes, Myron T. 
Herrick, C. C. Burnett, L. W. Bingham, L. McBride, D. 

A. Dangler, Geo. Deming, J. B. Perkins, S. M. Strong and 
W. J. Morgan. This committee, representing nearly one 
hundred of the most substantial and progressive business 
concerns of the city, met on September 24th and appointed 
Ryerson Ritchie to the position of superintendent of indus- 
try." 6 * 2 The special labors of this able official were the 

R. T. Lyon; 1870, A. J. Begges; 1871, Thomas Walton; 1872, Charles 
Hickox; 1873, B. H. York; 1874, F. H. Morse; 1875, H. Pomerene; 1877, 

B. A. DeWolf ; 1879, Daniel Martin; 1886, William Edwards; 1888, George 
W. Lewis; 1889, William Edwards; 1893, Henry R. Groff; 1894, Luther 
Allen; 1895, Wilson M. Day; 1896, J. G. W. Cowles. The treasurers have 
been: 1848, R. T. Lyon; 1S65, J. H. Clark; 1867, J. F. Freeman; 1S70, J. 
D. Pickands; 1871, A. Wiener; 1872, S. S. Gardner; 1S79, Theodore Sim- 
mons; 1884, X. X. Crum; 1887, A. J. Begges; 1894, Geo. S. Russell; 1896, 
Samuel Mather. The secretaries: 1848, Charles W. Coe; 1849, S. S Coe; 
1854, H. B. Tuttle; i860, C. W. Coe; 1862, H. B. Tuttle; 1864, Arthur H. 
Quinn; 1865, J. C. Sage; 1879, Theodore Simmons; 1884, X. X. Crum; 
1887, A. J. Begges; 1S93, Ryerson Ritchie (present incumbent). 

6-2 "Annual Report of the Trade and Commerce of Cleveland," 1892, p. 151. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



encouraging of new manufacturing and mercantile estab- 
lishments to locate in Cleveland, the securing of advan- 
tageous freight facilities for shippers, the collection and 
dissemination of statistics, a study of the Ohio tax laws, 
with a view to reformation of the same, the watching of 
State and municipal legislation having reference to Cleve- 
land, and the general co-operation of business men, in all 
questions relating to the city's interests. 

The active and able committeemen named above, and 
their associates in the Board, had not studied the condi- 
tions surrounding them, and the possibilities lying before 
them, very deeply, before they were led to the conclusion 
that a radical change in the base of operations was a mat- 
ter essential to the largest degree of success. As a result, 
the Cleveland Board of Trade was legally reorganized, 
its name changed to the Cleveland Chamber of Com- 
merce, and its functions greatly enlarged. At a meeting 
of the older organization, on February 6, 1893, held in 
conformity with the laws of the State, a resolution was 
adopted, as follows: "That the name of the Board 
of Trade of the City of Cleveland be changed to the 
Cleveland Chamber of Commerce." In explanation of 
this movement, we quote as follows from the report 63 
of the board of directors of the Chamber, made on April 
17, 1894: "To the enterprise and untiring efforts of the 
Board of Trade Committee on Promotion of Industry is 
due the successful organization of the Cleveland Chamber 
of Commerce. The persistent energy of that committee 
resulted in crystalizing a sentiment among business men 
in favor of a wider interest in progressive measures, a 
stronger faith in the advantage to the city of united work, 
and the necessity of having an organization so well 
equipped that it would invite the active interest of busi- 
ness men." 

Soon after the change of name and character, above de- 
scribed, was accomplished, a new set of by-laws went into 

68 ' ' The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce : Reports and Proceedings, ' ' 
1894, p. 11. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

operation. Those which had governed the older organi- 
zation were, says the report above quoted, "suited particu- 
larly to an organization where dealing in grain, provis- 
ions, etc., was carried on; they were not appropriate for 

a deliberative body, representing equally every trade in- 
terest, and embracing within its membership a large num- 
ber of professional men." The new laws adopted by the 
Chamber contained, among many others, the distinctive 
features here summarized : There were to be active, 
honorary and associate members. ' ' Men of good standing, 
interested in the commercial, industrial and municipal ad- 
vancement of the City of Cleveland," were eligible for the 
first-named class. A membership fee of twenty-five dol- 
lars, and annual dues of twenty dollars, were required of 
each active member. Three classes of membership seats 
were provided : Regular membership seat, at a cost of one 
hundred dollars ; special membership seat, at a cost of five 
hundred dollars; a life membership seat, at a cost of one 
thousand dollars. The orovernment of the Chamber was 
to be vested in a board of fifteen members, elected annually, 
the officers to consist of a president, two vice-presidents, 
a treasurer and a secretary. Committees were to be ap- 
pointed on arbitration, boards and associations, building, 
education, entertainment, executive, legislation, library, 
manufactures, membership, municipal, navigation, trade- 
extension and transportation. It was further decreed that : 
"Any number of members who may desire to be associated 
together as a board, exchange, society, or association, for 
the purpose of promoting more effectively the special 
trade, industry, business or profession in which they are 
interested, may form a board of the Cleveland Chamber 
of Commerce." A sinking fund was created, for the erec- 
tion of a Chamber of Commerce building. 

The general plan of labor laid doAvn for this great and 
powerful commercial organization is outlined in the above. 
How thoroughly, and with what success, that work was 
commenced and has been carried forward, only the com- 
pleted history of Greater Cleveland will be able to show. 



49o THE HIS TORY OF CLE VELA ND. 

An examination of the able reports of the Chamber for 
1894 and 1895 furnishes some interesting- information. 

New rooms in the Arcade were occupied on June 1, 
1893, and formally opened on the evening of the 20th. 
So useful did these become, as a center of business Cleve- 
land, that between January 1 and April 17, 1894, 108 
meetings of various kinds were held within them. Some 
of the strictly public questions which the Chamber took 
into consideration, and concerning which it made its in- 
fluence felt, were the location of the new armory, the 
proposed opening of Bank street, various measures in 
which Cleveland was interested in connection with the 
World's Fair, the question of transportation as bearing 
on Cleveland business, the securing of a new Federal 
building, a series of excursions by representatives of 
wholesale and manufacturing establishments into territory 
outside of Cleveland, for the purpose of fostering a closer 
personal relationship between the country and the city 
merchants; concerning city taxes, the establishment of a 
branch hydrographic office in Cleveland, action looking 
to a reduction of insurance rates, the raising of funds for 
the relief of suffering caused by the industrial depression, 
action looking to a due observance of Cleveland's Centen- 
nial of 1896, the improvement of the street railway serv- 
ice, the agitation of general municipal improvement, the 
adoption of a new system of recording receipts and ship- 
ments of freight, harbor improvement, the extension of 
manufactures, State taxation, the improvement of the 
city's park system, and other points of a less important 
nature. The report of the secretary, on April 9, 1894, 
showed total receipts for the year of $49, 560.92 ; a balance 
in the treasury of $30,569.61 ; a membership of 901. 

A special work of great importance is thus referred to 
in the report: "The Chamber should be especially proud 
of the successful issue of its efforts to bring together, in 
one organization, the local commercial associations of the 
State, to promote by unity of action the commercial, in- 
dustrial, financial and general business interests of Ohio. 



THE HISTORY OF ( LEVELAND. 491 



The commercial conference called by the Chamber, on 
November 15th, was attended by fifty-five representative 
business men, delegated by the leading commercial bodies 
of the State. The report of the board of directors, recom- 
mending that a conference be called for the purpose of 
organizing a State board of commerce, was submitted and 
adopted by the Chamber, on the evening when its new 
rooms were formally opened. . . . The formative 
work, and subsequent meetings of the State Board and its 
council, indicate that it has already become an influential 
factor, and that it has prompted local organizations and 
business men generally to take a greater interest in ques- 
tions which affect the welfare and prosperity of the people 
of Ohio. The Chamber may well congratulate itself that 
the Ohio State Board of Commerce was conceived and 
founded through its efforts." 

The annual report for 1895 showed that there were held 
in the rooms of the Chamber, during the year, 524 meet- 
ings, of which 337 were related directly to the work of 
the organization, 159 of local affiliated associations, and 
28 of conventions and delegates. A point of exceeding 
interest is found in this statement, made by the directors: 
11 Standing out prominently in the public eye, over and 
above the quiet, regular work of the Chamber, is the 
splendid achievement of having, within a few months, 
made certain the early building of a permanent home for 
the Chamber, by the accumulation of a fund of almost 
$200,000. " 64 A great many measures had been set in 
motion, discussed or approved by the Chamber, for the 
advancement of the general interests of Cleveland, all of 
which were clearly and fully set forth in the report re- 
ferred to above. The report of the treasurer showed that 
the net cash resources of the Chamber, on April 9, 1895, 
amounted to $108,629.96. The sinking fund showed 
$188,292.88 assets and no liabilities. The total member- 
ship was 1, 10 1. 

64 "The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce: Reports and Proceedings," 
1895, p. 43- 



492 THE HIS TOR Y OF CLE VELA ND. 

Since that report was made, active and effective steps 
have been taken to make good the promise of a structure 
which should not only furnish the Chamber with a home, 
but also stand as a material representative of what that 
great body actually is. The block of land on the north 
side of the Public Square, running eastward from the new 
Society for Savings Building to Park place, and taking in 
the site of the Western Reserve Historical Society Build- 
ing, has been purchased, and plans made for the early con- 
struction of a building which, with the land, shall cost 
not less than a half million dollars. 

The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce is unique among 
institutions of its kind. It is said to be the first successful 
attempt to combine all of the interests of a great city into 
one strong, powerful organization, that should guard and 
foster them all. In its list of members may be found not 
only the merchants and the bankers, but vessel owners, 
manufacturers, builders, lawyers, physicians, editors, 
brokers, railroad men, — in short, all lines of labor and 
all the professions. 

In a more material sense, the new structure is to be- 
come the center of the commercial and business interests 
of Cleveland, and a home, not only for the Chamber, but 
for its allied associations as well. It is intended to house 
such bodies as those of the coal men, the iron men, the 
builders, the manufacturers, the marine men, etc. 

Because of the wide range of labor and opportunity fur- 
nished by this great commercial body, other interests of 
a similar nature have been merged into it. By a concert 
of action, the Cleveland Board of Industry and Improve- 
ment, the Committee on Promotion of Industry, the Pro- 
duce Exchange and the Manufacturers' Board, simultane- 
ously went out of existence, leaving a clear field for the 
Chamber. The work done by these bodies is now in the 
hands of separate boards and committees. These, so 
far as organized, are the Transportation Board, Maritime 
Board and Manufacturers' Board. 

The Chamber's trip to Atlanta, Ga., was the first that 




Proposed Chamber of Commerce Building. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



493 



body took outside the State, although it had previously 
visited the principal Ohio cities, on a tour of a similar 
nature. This State trip was so successful in a social way, 
gave such a fillip to the zeal of the members, and, most 
of all, brought such valuable practical results, that the 
Chamber thought that even greater good would result 
from this more extended excursion. So, therefore, on No- 
vember 12, 1895, two hundred members of the Chamber 
took a special train for Atlanta. When that city was 
reached, the tourists occupied the Illinois headquarters, 
where a reception was tendered them on November 14. 
Speeches of welcome were 
made by Mayor Porter and 
J. D. Courtney, of the Cap- 
ital City Club. Mayor Mc- 
Kisson, President Day, of 
the Chamber of Commerce, 
and Col. J. J. Sullivan re- 
sponded for the Cleveland 
visitors. After that, the 
time until November 16th 
was given up to sight-see- 
ing, and, as was most nat- 
ural, to advertising Cleve- 
land and a laudable attempt 
to extend its business inter- 
ests in this new quarter. On November 16th, the party 
left Atlanta, and arrived in Cleveland November 17th, 
very well satisfied w T ith the trip, from every point of 
view. 

There are also in existence in Cleveland a number of 
organizations of lesser note, devoted to fields of special 
labor, that largely and effectively supplement the more 
public work of the Chamber of Commerce. Among 
these, mention should be made of the Cleveland Builders' 
Exchange, composed of builders, merchants and manu- 
facturers engaged in the building lines; the Real Estate 
Board, incorporated in 1892, to improve the standing of 




MAYOR B. D. BABCOCK. 



494 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the brokers in real property, and to stimulate activity in 
that line of business; the Wholesale Grocers' Association, 
and the Hardware Jobbers' Association. 

" Commodore Perry," as the marble memorial to the 
hero of Lake Erie is popularly called, stood calmly 
through the rains and storms of the years, in the very 
center of the Public Square, until increasing traffic and 
the demands of travel caused his removal to the middle 
of the southeastern section of that public breathing place. 
Had some visitor returned to Cleveland, after a long ab- 
sence, in the year 1894, and sought the familiar figure, he 
would have been directed by the nearest policeman to 
seek it in an attractive corner of Wade Park, while a mass- 
ive structure in stone and bronze would have been seen 
standing proudly upon the spot that had been the Com- 
modore's most recent resting place. 

This is the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Monument, erected by a patriotic people, in memory of 
those who fought in defense of the Union. It was dedi- 
cated, with impressive ceremonies, on the 4th of July, 
1894. 

There was little difference of opinion among the people 
of Cleveland as to the erection of this memorial, but there 
was opposition to its location upon the Public Square, 
and much discussion was had, accompanied by no small 
measure of litigation, before a decision was reached. It 
is possible, of course, in this connection, to give only the 
salient points of record regarding this great and patriotic 
memorial. 65 

The idea of erecting some commemorative monument, 
in honor of the soldiers and sailors who represented Cuy- 
ahoga County in the great contest for the Union, was sug- 
gested by an ex-soldier, William J. Gleason, at a meeting 
of Camp Barnett Soldiers' and Sailors' Society, on the 

65 The story is told, in all its details, in the valuable work to which refer- 
ence has heretofore been made. This is the " History of the Cuyahoga 
County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument," by William J. Gleason, presi- 
dent of the Monument Commission. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



evening of October 22, 1879. In accordance with a reso- 
lution introduced by him, a committee of three was ap- 
pointed, to take the matter into consideration. The sug- 
gestion was so approved in all quarters, that early in 
April, 1880, a law was passed giving the commissioners 
of Cuyahoga County authority to levy a tax for the erec- 
tion of " a monument or memorial tablet," in honor of 
those who had died in defense of their country. As time 
went on, and the money for the purpose began to accumu- 
late in the county treasury, the question of a site came 
up. The monument committee favored the soiitheast 
section of the Public Square. Levi T. Scofield was re- 
quested to submit a plan for a monument. In May, 1887, 
application was made to the city park commissioners for 
permission to occupy the space above referred to. Such 
permission was withheld. Steps were taken by the monu- 
ment committee toward a fulfillment of their plan, and in 
April, 1888, a law Avas passed by the General Assembly, 
setting aside such section of the Public Square for monu- 
ment purposes, excluding the county commissioners from 
further voice in the matter, and creating the Cuyahoga 
County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Commission. 
Under the provisions of that act, Governor J. B. Foraker 
appointed the commission as follows : William J. Gleason, 
Edw^ard H. Bohm, Emory W. Force, Levi T. Scofield, 
Levi F. Bauder, James Barnett, Charles C. Dewstoe, J. 
J. Elwell, Joseph B. Molyneaux, James Hayr, R. W. 
Walters, and M. D. Leggett. 

Plans were prepared and arrangements forwarded for 
practical work, when efforts were made by the park com- 
missioners and owners of certain property abutting upon 
the Public Square to prevent the erection of the monu- 
ment at the place named. The aid of the Cuyahoga 
Courts, and finally of the State Supreme Court, and the 
L T nited States Courts was invoked, but the decisions were 
in favor of the Monument Commission. Some exciting 
scenes were enacted, from time to time, and in various 
places, in wmich ex-soldiers, city officials, lawyers, and the 



496 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

public generally figured, with picturesque, if not always 
dignified, effect. 

The outcome was that the monument was begun, and 
finished, within due time, and stands to-day upon the site 
originally chosen. A tall granite shaft is surmounted by 
the figure of Liberty. Massive stone and granite walls 
rise about its base. " The eagle, with wings extended," 
writes Mr. Gleason, 60 " stands guard over the portal; the 
realistic scenes of the war, in the different branches of 
the service, reproduced in heroic bronze groups, are in 
place ; the old army corps badges, gracefully carved in 
stone, entwined in laurel wreaths, adorn each of the four 
sides of the memorial room; the Nation's beautiful em- 
blem of liberty and justice, the glorious Stars and Stripes, 
floats majestically in the breeze from handsome flag- 
staffs on the four corners of the structure ; while between 
the finely constructed walks and the monument are beds 
of lovely flowers, arranged in form and color representing 
the corps badges of the different divisions of the army 
and the badges of the Grand Army of the Republic, Loyal 
Legion, Women's Relief Corps, Union Veterans' Union, 
and the Sons of Veterans, bordered with wreaths of im- 
mortelles and forget-me-nots." Within the structure 
are commemorative panels, bronze busts, colored marble 
walls, stained glass windows, the names of Cuyahoga's 
soldiers and sailors cut in marble, a mosaic floor, bright 
lights — a temple indeed, fittingly adorned for the ex- 
pression of that patriotic gratitude that called it into exist- 
ence. 

The dedication occurred on Independence Day, 1894. 
The city arrayed itself in holiday garb, in honor of the 
occasion. The day was ushered in by the booming of 
cannon, the ringing of bells, and the blowing of steam 
whistles. A Federal salute was fired at sunrise. A yacht 
race, and a grand band concert on the Public Square, 
occurred in the morning. Then came the dedicatory ex- 

,;,i " History of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument," 
William J. Gleason, p. 346. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 497 



ercises. William McKinley, Governor of Ohio, the pres- 
ident of the day, delivered an address. There was music 
by a great chorus from the public schools. Virgil P. 
Kline read the Declaration of Independence. Hon J. B. 
Foraker delivered an eloquent oration. There was a na- 
tional salute of forty-four guns, a grand procession, and 
general illuminations after nightfall. The whole city, 
and much of the country roundabout, seemed to have sent 
all the people thereof as witnesses to the splendid celebra- 
tion of the event ; the procession was one of the greatest 
and most comprehensive ever seen in the streets of 
Cleveland; the monument was declared worthy of all 
this honor, and the strife and discussion that had been 
of the past were forgotten and forever buried, in the pa- 
triotic achievements of the present. 67 

There are two excellent methods by which the indus- 
trial and commercial development of a great city can be 
known — a personal inspection of its business and manu- 
facturing centers, and an examination of the totals to 
which its many forms of enterprise foot up. For this 
latter task, which, of course, is the only one here open to 
us, we have access, in the case of Cleveland, to the cen- 
sus reports of 1890, and to a valuable report 68 made two 
years afterwards by the Cleveland Board of Trade. These 
show where the city stood in the early days of this dec- 
ade, and it is but proper to state that Cleveland's growth 

67 ' ' The entire cost of the memorial, and its surroundings, aggregates in 
round figures $2 So, 000. Not a dollar of this amount has passed through 
the hands of the Commission, — all moneys being collected by the County 
Treasurer, and paid out by him, on warrants drawn by the County Audi- 
tor, when ordered so to do in writing by the Monument Executive Commit- 
tee and its Secretary." — " History of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and 
Sailors' Monument," by William J. Gleason, p. 477. 

68 For much of the information contained in the above, the writer is under 
obligation to one of the most thorough and admirable statistical hand- 
books, it has ever been his privilege to examine. This is the: "Annual 
Report of the Trade and Commerce of Cleveland: Prepared under the 
direction of the Cleveland Board of Trade." Issued December 1, 1892. 
Publication committee, David A. Dangler, John C. Covert, Wilson M. Day: 
Statistician, John M. Mulrooney. 



498 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

has been as sure and steady since then, as it was in that 
remarkably expansive period extending from 1880 to 
1890. 69 

What Cleveland really accomplished, between 1880 and 
1890, was so aptly and forcibly described by Robert P. 
Porter, superintendent of the census of 1890, in an address 
before the Cleveland Board of Industry and Improvement 
in April, 1892, that I cannot forego the temptation to 
quote his remarks in some detail. Said he: "In ten 
years, you have doubled the number and value of the 
product of your establishments. You have nearly trebled 
the capital invested in manufactures, multiplied the total 
number employed two and a half times, and you are pay- 
ing out, annually, in wages, more than three times as much 
as you did in 1880. We have carefully filed away, in 
Washington, a schedule sworn to by the special agent as 
a true and faithful statement of the condition of every 
one of the 2,300 manufacturing establishments of this 
city. ... I doubt whether a more interesting com- 
parison of your manufacturing industry is possible than 
that of the difference in cost of material and value of prod- 
uct, for this might be called the enhanced value due to 
manufacture, and really represents what the industry and 
capital of your city has accomplished. In 1880, this en- 
hanced value amounted to $16,974,313, while in 1890 it 

69 The population of Cleveland, as given in decades, from iSsoto 1S90, 

has been as follows: 

1830, United States Census 1,075 

1840, " " " 6,071 

1850, " " " 17.054 ' 

i860, " " " 43.S38 

1870, " " " 92,825 

1880, " " " 160,146 

1890, " " " 261,353 

The city directory computations, since that date, give the following 

totals : 

1892, City Directory 309,243 

1893, " " 1 322,932 

1894, " " 344,595 

1895, " " 352,629 

1896, " " 368,895 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 499 



amounted to 840,745,701, an increase of about 1 50 per 
cent. This may be considered as a gauge of your indus- 
trial enterprise. You have, in fact, nearly trebled your 
effective product. 

Taking the census of [890, and the Board of Trade re- 
port of 1892, as our guides for this inquiry as to Cleveland's 
rank as a commercial center in the beginning of the pres- 
ent decade, we are led to these important general facts: 
Cleveland, in 1890, ranked fourth 70 among the cities of 
the great lakes, in the volume of receipts and shipments 
of lake freight, the aggregate being 4,371,269 net tons. 
Of these, 3,088,512 tons were coal and iron ore. The 
total foreign and coastwise commerce of the customs dis- 
trict of Cuyahoga was 9,929,378 net tons. The magnitude 
of the city's iron ore traffic is best shown by a quotation 
from the report above referred to : ' ' An investment of 
$175,394,985 seems almost beyond the proportions of any 
one closely connected line of commerce, but such are the 
figures representing the capital involved, on July 1, 1892, 
in mining and transporting, by lake and rail, the output of 
the Lake Superior iron mining district. The sale and 
movement of every ton of ore from this district is con- 
ducted by sales agents in Cleveland, who are also owners 
of the mines to a large extent. Here the docks at all 
Lake Erie ports, excepting Buffalo and Erie, are con- 
trolled, and here is owned fully 80 per cent, of the vessel 
property engaged in this commerce, which forms the 
largest single item in the lake traffic. This country con- 
sumed, in 1890, 17,500,000 gross tons of iron ore. Of 
this amount, 1,246,830 tons were imported, and 16,253,170 
tons were of home production. Lake Superior mines pro- 
duced, in the same year, 9,003,701 gross tons, or more 
than one-half the raw material, for a nation that leads the 
world in the output of pig iron, Bessemer steel and steel 

10 Chicago and Buffalo outranked Cleveland, as they were the termi- 
nals of the most important of the lake shipping, and Escanaba, because of 
its immense shipments of ore, — the movement and sale of which Cleveland 
largely controlled. 



Soo THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

rails. This statement is in itself enough to show the re- 
lation the city bears to the iron industry, whose prosperi- 
ty is most often used to serve as a measure of the general 
business prosperity of the country." 

Cleveland shipped, by lake, to Milwaukee, Chicago, 
Duluth and other upper lake ports, 1,016,487 tons of bitu- 
minous coal in 1891, and 922,536 in 1890. The main 
points concerning her railway traffic were as follows: 
The total outward movement of freight over the eleven 
lines of railway having direct entrance into the city ag- 
gregated 5,535,332 net tons in 1891. These railroads 
operated 5,237 miles of working line in 1890, carried 37,- 
829,71 1 tons of freight; gross receipts ran up to $56,087,- 
349; operating expenses, $47,467,744; made use of the 
services of 37,684 employes. The aggregate receipts and 
shipments by canal in 1891 were less than 60,000 net 
tons, made up mainly of a few lines of coarse freight. 

In the earlier portions of this work, when recording the 
building of those little vessels hauled by oxen down to 
the place of landing, there was small indication that, be- 
fore the end of the century, Cleveland would be able to 
claim the honor of being the largest shipbuilding point 
in the United States. Yet such she had come to be, at a 
date as early as that now under consideration. 

The census report for the years 1889-90 — which are 
taken together for this calculation — furnishes the follow- 
ing comparison between Cleveland and the two next 
largest shipbuilding points : 

Cleveland, O., in gross tons, 71,322 

Philadelphia, Pa., in gross tons, 53, 811 

Bath, Me., in gross tons, 49,830 

In the five years ending with 1890, Cleveland built a 
total of 100 vessels of all kinds, with a gross tonnage of 
125,265. 

Eight Cleveland shipbuilding and [dry dock establish- 
ments made a return of capital to the census bureau of 
$2,587,775; employed 2,083 hands; paid out $1,188,662 
for wages; $1,442,045 for material, and $73,921 for mis- 




o 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 501 

cellaneous expenses. Their products reached a combined 
value of $3,091,300. Four dry docks alone represented 
an investment of $450,000. On July 1, 1892, there were 
owned in Cleveland forty steel vessels, all of which, with 
one exception, were steamers, and having a net registered 
tonnage of 69,317 tons, and an insurance valuation of 
$7,119,000; all but five of them having been built in 
Cleveland. It was further computed that, in 1892, the 
actual value, at a low estimate, of the 289 vessels owned 
in Cleveland, was $1 7, 000, 000. ri 

In general manufacturing, the census report showed 
that, in heavy forgings, wire nails, nuts and bolts, car- 
riage and wagon hardware, vapor stoves, sewing ma- 
chines, steel-tired car wheels and heavy street railway 
machinery, Cleveland led all the cities of the country. 
''Here are located," says the Board of Trade report, "the 
greatest shoddy mills in America ; a plant for the manu- 
facture of sewing machine wood- work that has no equal 
in the world; a steel bridge works, that is represented in 
massive structures spanning rivers and valleys over the 
entire continent, and an electric light carbon works, hav- 
ing a capacity of ten million carbons annually, with a 
market for its product extending to Mexico, South Amer- 
ica. China, and Japan." 

71 By the courtesy of the United States Commissioner of Navigation, I 
am enabled to bring these figures up to June 30, 1895, and present the 
following significant totals from his report, as to the shipbuilding and 
shipowning record of Cuyahoga County : 

Number of vessels enrolled 257 

Tonnage of vessels enrolled 236,843. 50 

Number and gross tonnage of sailing vessels, steam vessels, etc. : 

Sailing vessels 75 

Sailing vessels — Tonnage 50,407.49 

Steam vessels 174 

Steam vessels — Tonnage 182,472. 59 

Barges 8 

Barges — Tonnage 3,963.32 

Class, number, and gross tonnage of vessels built: 

Steam vessels 4 

Steam vessels — Tonnage 12,448.20 



So2 THE HISTORY Oh CLEVELAND. 



The annual capacity of the Cleveland blast furnaces and 
iron and steel mills was reported, in net tons, as follows: 
Pig iron, 275,000; Bessemer and open-hearth steel blooms, 
billets and slabs, 545,000; rails, 100,000; wire rods. 288,- 
000 ; merchant bars and shapes, 108,500; plates, axles, 
iron and steel forgings, etc., 210,000. Establishments to 
the number of 125, including blast furnaces, iron and 
steel mills, nut and bolt manufactories, foundries, • ma- 
chine shops, etc., turned out in 1890, a product valued at 
$47,364,764, and employed hands to the number of 17,465. 
Six big establishments engaged exclusively in the nut 
and bolt industry turned out goods to the value of $2.- 
750,000 annually. Five car-wheel works had an annual 
capacity of 335,200 wheels. The city was headquarters 
of the malleable iron industry of the country. A half 
dozen establishments engaged in the manufacture of steel 
hollow ware and Qr e neral hardware. The annual value 
of carriage, wagon and saddlery hardware was $4,750,000. 
Bridge building to the value of $2,000,000 a year was cred- 
ited to one establishment. The amount of capital in- 
vested in foundries and machine shops was placed at 
$7,997,233, employing 8,155 hands, with a product valued 
at $13,432,334. The city led the world in the manufac- 
ture of vapor stoves. Sewing machines to the number of 
150,000 were manufactured each year. The manufac- 
tures in lumber, mill products from logs, lumber planed, 
and sash, doors and blinds, were valued at $2,219,697. 
Cleveland's product in flour in 1891 was 675,000 barrels, 
valued at $2,600,000. In printing and publishing, 93 
establishments, capitalized at $2,527,435, did a business 
of $3, 147,426. In 1890, Cleveland possessed 21 slaughter- 
ing and meat-packing houses, capitalized at $810,957, and 
having a product valued at $8,673,966. In wool shoddies 
and blankets, the annual output reached $2,225,000. In 
wearing apparel, the value was $3,972,392. Business in 
boots and shoes was done to the value of $2,800,000. Pe- 
troleum products, outside of the Standard Oil Company's, 
$4,000,000. Paints, $2,008,986. Drugs and chemicals. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. joj 



$944,737. Lake fisheries, from $250,000 to $300,000. 
The aggregate annual sales, as given in the Board of 
Trade Report ( 1892 ) on the leading wholesale mercantile 
lines, may be summarized as follows: 

Dry goods $ 9,000,000 

Groceries . 9,000,000 

Produce, through commission merchants 4,750,000 

Hardware 4,000,000 

Merchant iron and steel out of store 3,250,000 

Boots, shoes and rubbers 2,Soo,ooo 

Rubber goods, belting, hose, rubber garments, etc. 2,300,000 

Cloaks, from manufacturers 2,250,000 

Clothing, made up 2,000,000 

Millinery and straw goods 2,000,000 

Books and stationery 2,000,000 

Drugs and druggists' sundries 2,000,000 

Teas, coffees and spices (exclusive of sales by 

wholesale grocers) 1,900,000 

Crockery 900,00 

Furniture 500,000 

Toys and notions 350,000 



\id in capital. 


Surplus. 


$9,050,000 


$2,233, 5S7 


3,432,100 


3,473,590 


550,000 


37,i65 


2,350,002 


i5,94i 



Total $49,000,00 

Turning to the banks, 72 we find the following signifi- 
cant figures, on July 1, 1892 : 

No. 

National Banks 11 

Savings Banks 21 

State Banking Companies ... 2 
Savings & Loan Associations . 16 

Total 50 ' $15,382,102 $5,760,283 

In the above, the Society for Savings is not enumerated. 
Its deposits then amounted to $21,539,844. 

72 "Notwithstanding the clean*history of Cleveland's banking business, 
under State and National laws, for full three-quarters of a century past — 
its freedom from failures or serious disturbances of any kind — there is 
abundant evidence of the liberal policy of the directors of these institu- 
tions, in the substantial growth of manufacturing and commercial inter- 
ests. No speculative influences go to swell the volume of banking busi- 
ness; neither do transactions of a speculative nature figure in Cleveland's 
weekly bank clearings, as published throughout the] country in compari- 
son with the clearing-house statements from other cities." — "Board of 
Trade Report," 1892, p. 129. 



5*4 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



Referring to that conservative business barometer, the 
real estate and building business, we find by examination 
of the reports made by the city inspector of buildings 
that in the three years and seven months ending December 
3, 1 89 1, there were erected in Cleveland 9,425 new build- 
ings, and 4,748 additions were made to those then stand- 
ing. The total estimated cost of these improvements was 




PERRY-PAYNE BUILDING. 



$18,141,932. The real estate transfers and leases for the 
ten years ending December 31, 1891, numbered 68,683, 
involving a money consideration to the great amount of 
$258,244,403, or an average of over twenty-five million 
dollars each year. 73 

13 " Wonderful instances of the increasing value of property, in the busi- 
ness section of the city, are found in the daily transactions. The value of 
realty, on Superior street, ranges from $2,500 to $4,000 per foot front, and 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. joj 



A reference to the building statistics, as shown in the 
census of 1890, r4 will furnish the following interesting 
figures: Dwellings in Cleveland, January 1, [891, 38,463; 

estimated value, $42,746,807. Barns, 6,311; estimated 
value, 81,855,810. Stores, 3,034; estimated value, $15,- 
912,175. Mills and shops, 1,291 ; estimated value, $5,238, - 

565. Miscellaneous, 740; estimated value, $14,025,656. 
Totals, 49> 8 39; $79>779> OI 3- 

The assessed value of Cleveland real estate, in 1891, was 
$89,512,700. Of personal property, $28,320,500. The 
real valuation was $500,000,000. Exempt from taxation, 
$18,000,000. The debt of the city was $8,735,291.73. 
The assets and sinking fund, $16,534,353.84. The total 
cost of construction of the water works department, to 
January 1, 1892, was $6,280,656. 17. Water works bonds 
then outstanding amounted to $1,775,000. The net earn- 
ings of the department, in 1891, were $419,874.43. The 
total area of the city was 24.48 square miles. Number of 
streets, 2,303. Miles of streets, 470. Main and branch 
sewers, 179 miles. Ten swing or draw bridges, 10 rail- 
road swing or draw bridges, 40 stationary bridges. Lake 
frontage, 5 miles; river frontage, 16 miles. Street rail- 
ways, 174 miles. The internal revenue collections in the 
eighteenth district of Ohio (Cleveland), for the year end- 
ing June 30, 1892, were as follows: Fermented liquors, 
$530,848.13; distilled spirits, $39,604.50; cigars and cigar- 
ettes, $275,454.86; snuff, $30.96; tobacco, $22,694.34; 
special tax, $178,276.12; oleomargarine, $36,025.28. 
Total, $1,086,332.86. The religious growth of the city 
was represented by more than two hundred church socie- 

the whole street, from Water street to the Public Square, could be disposed 
of at such figures, very readily, if the owners could be prevailed upon to 
sell. ... It is estimated that no less than sixty large allotments 
have been laid out, in the suburban districts, within the past three 
years, and that within the same period, homes to the number of about 
6,000 have been provided, after this system alone." — "Board of Trade 
Report," 1S92, p. 136. 

74 The number of structures above given was arrived at by actual count 
of the buildings, reported by the Ward assessors. 



jo6 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



ties. Its literary status was indicated by 112 newspapers, 
magazines and other periodicals. 

Another illustration of the size to which Cleveland has 
grown, in this year of her Centennial, is shown in the 
statistics of her Post-office. Besides the now antiquated 
.and inadequate main Post-office, fronting on the Public 
Square, the city has four large carrier stations, known as 




CLEVELAND P< >ST-OFFICE. 



A, B, C and D; ssven sub-stations, known as 1, 2, 3, 4, 
5, 6 and 7, and twenty-nine stamp agencies scattered 
throughout the city. As an indication of the recent ex- 
tensive growth of the city's postal business, I give the 
.comparative receipts found in the following : 

For the year ending June 30, 1S90 $461,854.63 

For the year ending June 30, 1895 629,711.61 

For the year ending September 30, 1895 652,627.13 



THE HIS TORY OF CI. E I ' EL A ND. jo 7 



For the following detailed statistics, the writer is indebted 
to John C. Hutchins, the present postmaster: 76 The net 
reeeipts for the year ending" June 30, [895, of the Cleve- 
land office, were $1,392.41, greater than the net receipts 
of all the presidential post-offices of the States of Louis- 
iana, South Carolina and Nevada, and $61,495.07 greater 
than those of the State of Maine. For the same year, 
the ninth division railway mail service handled 104,- 
049,986 pieces. The city division of this office handled 
51,622,076 pieces. Cleveland is the headquarters of the 
above-named railway service, which makes the office a 
receptacle for all unmailable and illegible matter reach- 
ing such division. This matter is rated up, and addresses 
notified, or, if insufficiently addressed, the same is corrected 
and sent forward, when possible, or sent to the dead letter 
office for final disposition. The greater part of such mail 
originates in foreign countries. For the year ending 
June 30, 1895, nearly one million pieces of this character 
were handled. 

About 560 postal employes receive their pay through 
the Cleveland office. It has at present 135 clerks, 152 
carriers, 25 sub-carriers and 248 railway postal clerks, 
and does a money order business of from three to four 
million dollars annually, and issues both domestic and 
international orders. 

Cleveland has never been in undue haste to add to her 
possessions by annexation. Such adjacent territory as 
has been added to her borders, has come through manifest 
destiny, and in response to the reasonable demands of the 
people most directly interested. It was inevitable that, 
in the course of time, the thriving villages just to the 
westward should be absorbed into the great city, even as 

' 5 The postmasters of Cleveland, from the establishment of the office in 
1805 to 1896, have been as follows: Elisha Norton, John Walworth, Ashbel 
W. Walworth, Daniel Kelley, Irad Kelley, Daniel Worley, Aaron Barker, 
Benjamin Andrews, Timothy P. Spencer, Daniel M. Haskell, J. W. Gray, 
Benjamin Harrington, Edwin Cowles, George A. Benedict, John W. Allen, 
N. B. Sherwin, Thomas Jones, Jr., William W. Armstrong, A. T. Ander- 
son, John C. Hutchins. 



SoS THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

were East Cleveland and Newburg. It was, therefore, no 
surprise when West Cleveland and Brooklyn came into the 
municipal fold. West Cleveland was annexed on March 5, 
1894, and Brooklyn Village on April 30, 1894. The first 
named added to the city about 1,500 acres and 6,000 in- 
habitants; Brooklyn, 1,700 acres of land and 5,000 inhab- 
itants. By the terms of annexation, Cleveland assumed 
the payment of bonds, as follows: West Cleveland, $95,- 
349; Brooklyn Village, $143,674.72. The city, however, 
received the following amounts in cash from the treasur- 
ers of the two towns: West Cleveland, $6,172.17; Brook- 
lyn Village, $33,000.92. It also received permanent im- 
provements, valued as follows: 

Brooklyn West 

Village. Cleveland. 

Sewers $51,058.85 $353. 80 

Pavements 75,688.57 38,872. 74 

Water pipe 73,736.85 63,326.70 

Sidewalks 1,138.07 24,286. 19 

Curbing and grading 2,706.54 28,338.89 

Town Hall 3,000.00 

$204,328.88 $158,178.32 

Up to November 16, 1895, Cleveland had been singu- 
larly free from serious accidents on its street railroads, 
although its river and its viaducts, with their swing-bridges, 
were constant menaces. On that date, however, in an 
early hour of the evening, a car plunged through the open 
draw of the Central Viaduct, into the Cuyahoga River, 100 
feet below. Seventeen deaths resulted, all from drown- 
ing, for there were no injuries on the bodies when they 
were recovered. The car was one on the Cedar and Jen- 
nings avenue line of the "Big Consolidated" system, and 
it was going to the South Side. The accident occurred at 
the north end of the draw. Its cause is uncertain, for 
the testimony before the coroner was at direct odds on the 
vital point. The bridge-tender swore that the bridge 
had been opened for a tug boat, that the warning red 
# lights were displayed, and that the gates were closed and 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. jo 9 



locked. The motorman, who jumped and was saved just 
as his car went over the brink, swore that the gates were 
open, and there were no lights. The conductor, who 
gave the signal to start after the car had stopped at the 
safety switch, was one of the drowned, and so his testi- 
mony, which would have been final, was lost. The coro- 
ner's verdict was non-committal as to the placing of the 
responsibility. Augustus Rogers, the motorman, who 
was held for manslaughter, was discharged. Only one 
passenger was saved. He went down with the car, but 
struggled out to the surface of the water and clung to a 
spile till rescued. 

After a number of years of agitation, by press and pub- 
lic, it seems within the range of easy probability that 
Cleveland will have a new government building. Hon. 
Theodore E. Burton, congressman from this district, 76 
drafted a bill asking for an appropriation of $2,500,000 
for this purpose, and it has already received the prelimi- 
nary approval of the committees, and it will undoubtedly 
be passed without difficulty. The new building will, prob- 
ably, occupy the site of the present one, the Case Library 
property, and also the street between them. 

Cleveland will have a noble art gallery, and a helpful 
art school, so soon as certain legal complications, attend- 
ing the consolidation of a number of bequests for this 
purpose, are disposed of. The first citizen whose gener- 
osity took this turn was H. B. Hurlbut. By his will, his 
immense estate, and valuable art collection, were given to 
his wife for life. At her death, they Ave re to be used to 
found an art gallery, after certain legacies were paid. 
Henry C. Ranney, James D. Cleveland, and William E. 
Miller are the trustees of this fund. Horace Kelley, who 

76 It may be permitted, at this point, to name the Clevelanders who have 
represented the city in Congress, with the dates of service, as follows: 
John W. Allen, 1837-41; Sherlock J. Andrews, 1S41-43; Edward Wade, 
1853-61; Albert G. Riddle, 1S61-63; Rufus P. Spaulding, 1863-69; Richard 
C. Parsons, 1873-75; Henry B. Payne, 1S75-77; Amos Townsend, 1S77-83; 
Martin A. Foran, 1883-89; Theodore E. Burton, 1SS9-91; Tom L. Johnson, 
1S91-95; Theodore E. Burton, 1895-97. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



died in December, 1890, left valuable real estate, encum- 
bered only by an allowance to his widow, for the purpose 
of establishing an art gallery, and the founding of an art 
school. The trustees named are James M. Jones, Henry 
C. Ranney and Alfred S. Kelley. John Huntington, as 
before stated, gave a certain per cent, of the income from 
his estate, during the life-time of his children, and at their 
death a definite amount of property, for an art gallery, 
and an evening polytechnic school. Henry C. Ranney, 
Edwin R. Perkins, John V. Painter, S. E. Williamson, 
Charles W. Bingham, John H. Lowman, James D. Cleve- 
land, George H. Worthington, and Mariette Leek Hunting- 
ton, are the trustees. On 
December 23, 1892, J. H. 
Wade, who wished to see 
the art gallery project take 
tangible form, gave four 
acres in Wade Park, for the 
proposed building. As the 
f/ purposes of all these be- 
quests are the same, and 
the trustees of a single mind, 
in their desires to co-oper- 
ate, it only needs the prop- 
er legal measures to amal- 
gamate these funds, and 
then the gallery, and the schools, will immediately follow. 
The newspapers of Cleveland did not wait for the dawn 
of the city's centennial year to show that they were keep- 
ing step with the music of progress, nor for the advent of 
Greater Cleveland, in which to give evidence that they 
were abreast with modern methods. Perhaps it would be 
just to say, that no one agency has done as much for the 
encouragement of enterprise, and the advertisement of 
Cleveland's claims before the world at large, as her local 
press. 

In the pages preceding, mention was made of the early 
ventures in the newspaper line. That record ended in, 




MAYOR ROBERT BLEE. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. jn 

or near, 1840. To attempt to carry it forward, in a com- 
pleteness of detail, through the half century and more 
that lies between that date and this, would be as mourn- 
ful as reading the inscriptions in a cemetery, and about 
as fruitful of results. Like all cities that have passed 
through experiences worthy of mention, Cleveland has 
seen her scores and scores of newspaper ventures spring 
up, as in a night, and die with the same ease and expedi- 
tion. 77 There are few things more easily done than to 
start a newspaper; there are few things more difficult 
than to keep it going. 

The founding of the ' ' Cleaveland Herald ' ' has already 
been related, at some length. A long, useful, and honora- 
ble career was permitted it, between its humble begin- 
ning, in 1 8 19, and its partition and absorption, in 1885. 

The " Herald " became the'" Herald and Gazette," in 
1837, having united its fortunes with the " Gazette," es- 
tablished by Colonel Whittlesey, in the preceding year. 
At a little later date, the ownership passed into the hands 
of Josiah A. Harris. In 1850, he sold a part interest to 
A. W. Fairbanks, who assumed charge of the publica- 
tion department, and added a job printing outfit. In 
1853, George A. Benedict became one of the proprietors 
and editors, and, near the close of the Civil War, Mr. Har- 
ris retired, Mr. Benedict becoming editor, and the busi- 

71 A mention of the titles of some of these earlier ventures may be 
permitted: " Second Adventist, " " Ohio American," " Declaration of In- 
dependence," "Weekly Times," " Reserve Battery, " " Spirit of Freedom," 
"Temple of Honor," "Spirit of the Lakes," " Family Visitor," " Cleve- 
land Commercial," "Harpoon," "Golden Rule," "Forest City," "True 
Democrat," "Annals of Science," "Commercial Gazette," "Germania," 
"Spiritual Universe," "Daily Review," "Buckeye Democrat," "Wool 
Growers' Reporter," "Agitator," "Dodges' Literary Museum," "Van- 
guard," "Daily Dispatch," "Gleaner," " Brainard's Musical World," 
"Analyst," " Literary Museum," " Temperance Era," "Ohio Spiritualist," 
" Printing Gazette," "Prohibition Era," "New Era," "Real Estate Re- 
corder," "Mechanics' and Blacksmiths' Journal," "Coopers' Journal," 
"Illustrated Bazaar," "House and Garden," "Hygenia," "Pulpit," 
"Cross and Crown," "Columbia," "Our Youth," "Cuyahoga County 
Blade," "Household Treasure," "Indicator," "Pictorial World," 
" Household Gem," etc., etc. 



5i2 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

ness being carried on by Fairbanks, Benedict & Co. The 
" Herald," during these years, had become strong, pow- 
erful, and prosperous, and an outspoken organ of the Re- 
publican party. In 1876, Mr. Benedict died, and his in- 
terest was purchased by his partner. 

Toward the end of 1877, the " Herald " passed into the 
control of Richard C. Parsons and William P. Fogg. 
The Herald Publishing Company was formed a little time 
thereafter. The stock was held by various parties. Col. 
Parsons and Mr. Fogg resigned the management. The 
old newspaper was destined to pass through various ex- 
periences, all of which tended to financial loss, and, in 
1885, it passed out of existence. It was divided and ab- 
sorbed by its two rivals, — the " Plain Dealer " taking the 
plant, and the " Leader " the name, news franchises and 
subscription lists. 78 

Next in age, among the daily newspapers that have 
been, for years, identified with the history of Cleveland, 
comes the " Plain Dealer." In 1834, the "Advertiser," 
established as a Whig organ, passed into the control of 
Canfield & Spencer, who continued its publication, as a 
Democratic weekly, until 1836, when it was issued as a 
daily. It was sold, in 1841, to J. W. and A. N. Gray, 
who changed its name to the " Plain Dealer." It con- 
tinued as a staunch Democratic organ, while extending 
its facilities and reputation as a news gatherer. Its editor, 
J. W. Gray, died in 1862. Four years later, the paper 
was purchased by William W. Armstrong, of Tiffin, Ohio, 
a veteran editor and publisher, who had but recently re- 
tired from office, as Secretary of State. In 1877, he or- 
ganized the Plain Dealer Publishing Company, of which 

:v " More than sixty-five years ago, the ' Cleaveland Herald ' first saw the 
light. To-day, after a longer life than is granted to most newspapers, it 
rests from its labors. . . In closing the record of the ' Herald,' we can 
justly claim it to have been a clean, and honorable, as well as useful, 
record. We know that, in passing out of sight, it will leave behind it a 
good name, and thousands who will mourn its departure, as that of an old, 
a trusted, and valued friend." — " The ' Herald's ' Farewell," by J. H. A. 
Bone, in the final issue, March 15, 1SS5. 



THE HIS TORY F ( 7. E 1 'EL A ND. 513 



he became president and manager, while still retaining 
his position as editor. The paper was continued, as an 
evening publication, until (885, when it was sold to L. E. 

Holden and others, who also secured the " Herald " plant, 
as before mentioned, and began the issuing of a morning 
and Sunday edition. The present officers of the company 
are: President, L. E. Holden; Vice-President, L. Dean 
Holden ; Treasurer, R. R. Holden ; Secretary and General 
Manager, Charles E. Kennedy. Because of other large 
and diversified interests, L. E. Holden did not give the 
paper much attention, until 1893. Since then, he has been 
the controlling and directing force of the editorial columns 
of the " Plain Dealer," and, although unable to fall into 
routine work, contributes the leading articles upon all 
subjects of moment. The general manager is Charles E. 
Kennedy, who served an apprenticeship in both the edi- 
torial and business departments of Cleveland newspapers. 
He has held his present position since January 1, 1893. 
The wonderful growth of the ''Plain Dealer," especially 
during the past three years, warranted a larger and bet- 
ter newspaper office, and in the spring of 1896, the com- 
pany bought the large building facing on Superior, Bond 
and Rockwell streets, and remodeled it into a modern 
newspaper home for the ' ' Plain Dealer, ' ' and its afternoon 
edition, the " Evening Post." The " Plain Dealer" has 
of late taken a high stand in the newspaper world, and is 
well regarded as one of the leading and most influential 
of the Democratic organs of the West. 

The ' ' Cleveland Leader ' ' has for years been closely 
identified with the interests of the City of Cleveland, and 
with those of the Republican party, of which it is one of 
the leading exponents. It has been known under its pres- 
ent name since 1854, although its actual beginning as a 
newspaper must be sought a decade earlier. In 1844, the 
" Ohio American" was established in the City of Ohio, by 
R. B. Dennis, who conducted it as an organ of the old 
Liberty party. In 1845, Edwin Cowles became its pub- 
lisher. The "True Democrat," an anti-slavery Whig 



5*4 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



organ, was established at Olmsted Falls, O., in 1846, 
and was moved to Cleveland one year later. In 1848, trie 
' True Democrat ' ' and the ' ' Ohio American ' ' were con- 
solidated, under the name of the first-mentioned. In 1852, 
Joseph Medill came to Cleveland and established the 
" Daily Forest City," and in 1853 this paper and the 
' ' True Democrat ' ' were consolidated under the name of 
the "Daily Forest Citv Democrat." Edwin Cowles, who 
was then engaged in the printing business, became one 
of the owners of the newly-named journal, the proprietors 
being known under the firm name of Medill, Cowles & 
Co. Mr. Cowles took charge of the business department, 

the editors being Mr. Medill 
and John C. Vaughan. 

In March, 1854, the long 
name with which the paper 
had been burdened gave way, 
and the "Cleveland Leader" 
took its place among the jour- 
nals of Ohio. The entire prop- 
erty passed, by purchase, into 
the hands of Mr. Cowles 79 in 
1855. In i860, he took per- 
sonal charge of the editorial 
department, where he re- 
in i860, the Cleveland Leader 




EDWIN COWLES. 



mained until his death. 



' 9 Edwin Cowles was born in Austinburg, Ashtabula County, O. , on 
September 19, 1825. He learned the printer's trade, in Cleveland, and, 
at the age of eighteen, engaged in business for himself, as the junior mem- 
ber of the firm of Smead & Cowles. His connection with the newspaper 
business has been above related. He was one of the founders of the Re- 
publican part}-, and was boldly outspoken, in defence and support of its 
principles, all through his life. As an editor, he was utterly without fear, 
and adhered to that which he believed to be the right, with a tenacity that 
made him a power, in any cause to which he gave his support. He opposed 
slavery, and supported the vigorous prosecution of the war, with all the 
power that lay within him. He was appointed postmaster of Cleveland, in 
1 861, and held that office for five years. He was a delegate to the Repub- 
lican National Conventions of 1876 and of 1884, and, in 1877, was appointed 
honorary commissioner to the Paris Exposition. He died on March 4, 
1S90, after a life of great industry and exceptional usefulness. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. jij 



Printing Company was formed, Mr. Cowles holding the 
majority of the stock. In 1869, the "Evening News" 
was added, as an afternoon edition of the "Leader," 
and at a later date, as before mentioned, the name 
and good- will of the "Herald" were obtained by pur- 
chase, and the evening paper became the " News and 
Herald." 

The "Leader," from the first, has been an earnest and 
aggressive supporter of the Republican party, and was 
long since recognized as the chief exponent of the party 
in this section of the country. Its management, at 
present, is in the hands of the following officers: 
President and General Manager, E. H. Perdue; Vice-Pres- 
ident, Alfred H. Cowles; Secretary, Charles W. Chase; 
Treasurer, W. F. Bulkeley; Editor-in-Chief, James B. 
Morrow. 80 

On November 2, 1878, Ed. W. Scripps and John S. 
Sweeney, of the " News," Detroit, Mich., began the 
publication of the "Penny Press" in Cleveland. It was 
a one-cent, seven-column folio, and its outfit consisted 
largely of an upright Baxter engine, and a four-cylinder 
Hoe press. Mr. Scripps was the editor, and Mr. Sweeney 
the business manager. The paper succeeded, was repeat - 

80 Dear Sir: — You ask me to state the policy, politics and principles of 
the "Cleveland Leader." The policy of the "Leader" is to get and to 
print the news, and to treat all men and all classes with exact justice. 
The " Leader " is a Republican newspaper — stalwart in its politics, but fair 
enough, I am sure, to expose and condemn a Republican rascal, and to 
cheerfully commend an honest and competent Democrat, when one is dis- 
covered to be in office. The "Leader" believes in the people — in their 
morality, and in their patriotism. It stands for the enforcement of the 
law, the preservation of order, the rights of all men, the dignity of labor, 
the protection of property, the Constitution of the United States, and the 
Stars and Stripes. It seeks to induce people to live rightly, and to think 
rightly. It believes in the public schools, and insists that no public money 
shall be appropriated for sectarian purposes. It has fought, and is now 
fighting, for civil service reform, in National, State, and Municipal govern- 
ment. It maintains that Cleveland is the best city in Ohio, and that Ohio 
is the best State in America. But above all, the " Leader " exalts the truth. 

Very truly yours, 

Mr. James H. Kennedy. James B. Morrow. 

Cleveland, O., June 6, 1896. 



ji6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

edly enlarged, and now has a larger circulation than its 
projectors ever hoped for. It is now known as the 
' ' Cleveland Press. ' ' It owns its publication building, has 
five Potter presses, and is constantly making improve- 
ments. The editor-in-chief is E. W. Scripps, president 
of the Scripps-McRae league of newspapers. R. F. Paine, 81 
the editor, has been with the paper seventeen years. E. 
W. Osborn is the business manager. 

The "Morning Recorder" is the youngest of the Cleve- 
land dailies. Its first number appeared on September 9, 
1895, and it is published every day, except Sunday. It is 
decidedly unique, and aims to be as original as possible. 
It is only four pages, and seldom uses cuts. Politically, it 
is independent and fearless. The ' ' Recorder ' ' is owned 
and published by the Record Publishing Company, which 
was organized by George A. Robertson, who has been 
connected with Cleveland journalism, almost constantly, 
for twenty years. The officers of the company are : Presi- 
dent, M. C. Reefer ; Vice-President, George P. Cowey; 
Treasurer, George A. Robertson; Secretary, Louis F. Post. 
M. C. Reefer is manager, George A. Robertson 82 editor, 
and R. B. Gelatt managing editor. 

81 Dear Sir: — It is the policy of the " Cleveland Press " to give all the 
news ; to permit the people to conduct their own politics ; and to maintain 
those principles which it deems right, regardless of sect, political affiliation, 
or social position, of those who may be interested in those principles. 

Yours respectfully, 

R. F. Paine, 
Cleveland, O., June 9th, 1896. Editor. 

82 Dear Mr. Kennedy: — The intention is to make the " Recorder," first 
of all, a newspaper. It contains all the news, stated in such form that it 
may be quickly read by the busiest man. It is the belief of its founders, 
that in this hustling age, the publisher who saves the time of his readers, 
by carefully editing the news, is doing them a service. The " Recorder " 
is a protest against the mammoth sheets of the time, that have grown up 
through the enormous reduction in the cost of composition, print paper, 
and printing, through the introduction of modern machinery. It is unique, 
and original, in almost every respect, and the hearty way in which it has 
been received by the reading public is a sure indication that it is on the 
right track. In politics, it is strictly independent, and will in the future, 
as in the past, support only such men and measures as it believes are for 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. j'7 



The first issue of what is now the "Cleveland Daily 
World" made its appearance on August 29, [889. The 
" Sunday World," formerly the " Sunday Journal," had 
been in existence some years prior to that time. The 
year 1889 was somewhat fruitful in the starting of daily 
newspaper enterprises in Cleveland. The first that shone 
out was the " Evening Star," on the West Side. It was 
the daily offshoot of a weekly paper, by the same name, 
that had been issued by Doty & Hall, on Saturdays. Rob- 
ison & Cockett, the proprietors of the "Sunday World," 
started an afternoon "World" in the last days of August, 
and George A. Robertson, of the " Sunday Sun and 
Voice," started the "Evening Sun" about this time. A 
little later, in the fall, the "MorningTim.es" was started, 
by H. E. Woods and associates. From all these efforts, 
only one paper survived, and that is now called the 
"Daily and Sunday World." The process of growth and 
elimination is interesting. Within a few weeks, the 
" Sun " and " World " united, and' the name "Sun" was 
soon dropped, leaving the present title. The " World " 
had strong financial backing, and though it naturally met 
vigorous competition, grew steadily in circulation and in- 
fluence. Its manager, almost from the start, was B. F. 
Bower, who came to Cleveland from Detroit. Its editor 
was George A. Robertson. The president of the com- 
pany > and one of its chief financial backers, was F. B. 
Squire. In April, 1895. Messrs. Bower and Robertson 
sold all of their interest, and Mr. Squire most of his, to 

the best interests of the people. It will never take into consideration, for 
a moment, the question of whether its course is likely to be popular 
or not. 

It will constantly depend upon the truth and justice of its position for 
final vindication, and it cares little whether immediate victory crowns its 
efforts or not. The publishers of the " Recorder" believe that its estab- 
lishment marks a new era in American journalism. The day of the hon- 
est newspaper, which gives all the news honestly, and which is not con- 
trolled by party, clique or faction, certainly ought to dawn about now. 
The " Recorder " wants to be a part of that dawn. 

George A. Robertson, 

Cleveland, O., July, 1896. Editor. 



ji8 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Robert P. Porter, who is now its editor and proprietor. 
The managing editor is John J. Spurgeon. 88 

5(3 The following statement, as to policy and principles, is authorized by 
the " World " management : "The 'Cleveland World' is Republican in 
politics, never refusing to criticise the shortcomings of those elevated to 
office by the Republican party, if criticism is necessary, yet its unswerving 
loyalty to Republican principles has been one of the sources of strength 
to the organization, in its city, its county and its State. Its advocacy of 
the eight-hour day, its practical carrying out of the eight-hour day, within 
its office, and its encouragement of all that is best and right, for the ad- 
vancement of the laboring men of its constituency, and of the whole coun- 
try, have made it the accepted friend of labor and its advocates. ' ' 



CHAPTER XIX. 
CLEVELAND'S CENTENNIAL YEAR. 

The dawn of July 22, 1896, saw the completion of 
Cleveland's first century of existence, reckoned from that 
earlier July day which witnessed the landing of Moses 
Cleaveland, and his little company of surveyors, upon the 
green banks of the Cuyahoga River. In the pages which 
have orone before, we have learned of the wonderful 
things that these one hundred years of faithful and fruit- 
ful labor have accomplished. 

It was, of course, a matter of general agreement that 
this Centennial anniversary should be fittingly cele- 
brated.. The first public suggestion of concerted action 
came, quite properly, from that organization which has 
accomplished so much in the collection and preservation 
of local history — the Early Settlers' Association of Cuy- 
ahoga County. 

At the annual meeting of that body, on July 22, 1893, 
John C. Covert offered the following resolution: 84 "That 
the president appoint a committee of nine persons, he to 
be the chairman, to confer with the City Council, Cham- 
ber of Commerce, and other local bodies, to provide for a 
proper celebration of the Centennial anniversary of the 
landing of Moses Cleaveland, at the mouth of the Cuva- 
hoga River, on July 22, 1796." 

This resolution was unanimously adopted. In obedi- 
ence to its directions, the president appointed the follow- 
ing gentlemen members of such committee : John C. 
Covert, A. J. Williams, Bolivar Butts, James Barnett, 
George F. Marshall, Wilson S. Dodge, Solon Burgess, H. 
M. Addison. Richard C. Parsons, president of the Asso- 

S4 "Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," Vol. III., No. 2, pp. 45 and 
106. 



S2o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAXD. 

ciation, became, by the terms of the resolution, chairman 
of the committee. 

The important question thus raised was discussed 
favorably by the general public. The officers and mem- 
bers of the Chamber of Commerce showed an especial in- 
terest in the matter. At a meeting of the Chamber, held 
on November 21, 1893, the following resolutions were 
adopted : 

Whereas, The year 1S96 will mark the one-hundredth anniversary of 
the founding of the City of Cleveland ; and, 

Whereas, So important an event deserves commemoration in the degree 
to which Cleveland has made advancement during that period in popula- 
tion, wealth, commerce, education and arts ; therefore, 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the Chamber of 
Commerce, whose duty it shall be to begin at once timely and suitable prep- 
arations for an appropriate celebration of the city's Centennial, to the end 
that various important public improvements now in progress, or in con- 
templation, may, by unit}* and harmony of action, be brought to a culmi- 
nation in that year, and the occasion be thus distinguished by tangible 
evidences of the city's growth and glory. 

The following gentlemen were appointed members of 
that committee: Wilson M. Day, chairman; W. J. Akers, 
H. A. Garfield, S. F. Haserot, Vebb C. Hayes, Geo. W. 
Kinney, O. M. Stafford. 

This committee submitted an elaborate report to the 
Chamber, which was adopted with enthusiasm. The 
same committee, substantially, was reappointed in 1894, 
and made a further report, which was likewise adopted. 
Its closing recommendation was that a commission be 
formed, consisting- of the governor of the State, the secre- 
tary of State, the auditor of State, the president of the 
•Senate, and the speaker of the House, ex officio ; the may- 
or, the director of law, the director of public works, the 
president of the City Council, and the director of schools, 
ex officio, and fifteen citizens at large. 

Cleveland was thus committed, through her early set- 
tlers and representative business men, to a fitting celebra- 
tion of the one-hundredth anniversary of her birth. 

A conference was held on May n, 1895, by Robert E. 
McKisson, mayor of Cleveland; Samuel G. McClure, sec- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 521 



retary of the Board of Control; Wilson M. Day, president 
of the Chamber of Commerce, and Ryerson Ritehie, sec- 
retary of the Chamber, in which the way was prepared 
for the work of the future. At a seeond meeting of the 
above-named gentlemen and representatives of the Early 
Settlers' Association's Committee, held on May 17th, the 
full Centennial Commission was selected, as follows: 

State: William McKinley, Governor; Samuel M. Tay- 
lor, secretary of state; Edward W. Poe, auditor of state; 
Andrew L. Harris, president of the Senate ; Alexander 
Box well, speaker of the house. 

Municipality: Robert E. McKisson, Mayor; Minor G. 
Norton, director of law; Darwin E. Wright, director of 
public works; Dan F. Reynolds, Jr., president of the 
City Council; H. Q. Sargent, director of schools. 

At Large: Wm. J. Akers, Chas. W. Chase, Martin A. 
Foran, John F. Pankhurst, Henry M. Brooks, H. M. Ad- 
dison, L. E. Holden, A. J. Williams, Moritz Joseph, 
Richard C. Parsons, Bolivar Butts, Wilson M. Day, 
Augustus Zehring, Geo. F. Marshall, Geo. W. Kinney. 

The first officers were : Honorary President, William 
McKinley. 

President. Robert E. McKisson. 

First Vice-President, WilsQn M. Day. 

Seeond Vice-President, A. J. Williams. 

Secretary, Samuel G. McClure. 

Treasurer, Charles W. Chase. 

At a meeting of the executive committee of the com- 
mission, it was decided to recommend Wilson M. Day, 
president of the Chamber of Commerce, and a most active 
and intelligent advocate of all measures proposed for the 
city's good, for the important position of director-general. 
At a meeting of the Commission, on July nth, Mr. Day 
was, therefore, unanimously elected. L. E. Holden was 
chosen his successor, in the office of first vice-president. 
It was also decided, at this meeting, that the celebration 
should open on July 22nd, and close on September 10, 1896. 

Thus equipped, the Cleveland Centennial Commission 



522 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



opened headquarters in the City Hall, and entered upon 
the accomplishment of the important labor committed to 
its hands. It was the general opinion that an exposition 
could best set forth the greatness of Cleveland, as a center 
of business activities, and, at the same time, commemorate 
her Centennial birthday. A careful study of the whole 
question was entered upon. Committees visited various 
other cities, where such expositions had been held ; many 
conferences were had with business men of Cleveland and 
elsewhere. All the arguments for and against were care- 
fully considered. A suggestion was finally made for the 
purchase of exposition grounds and the erection of the 
needed buildings. This was taken into consideration, at a 

series of meetings of business 
men, but from a lack of the 
needed funds, and doubts about 
the raising of the same, the 
shortness of the time remain- 
ing, and other valid considera- 
tions, the project of an exposi- 
tion was abandoned in the first 
month of the Centennial year. 

Meanwhile, the preparations 
for a due celebration of the 
event, along other lines, had 
been pushed forward. A fund 
of some sixty thousand dollars 85 
was raised. The commissioners and their director-gen- 
eral desired to make the celebration one of the greatest 
and most successful ever seen in the West! In addition 
to arranging all the needed details for a series of events 




MAYOR R. E. M KISSON. 



85 It is proper to state here that a preliminary fund of $8,113 was raised 
by popular subscription, followed by a general fund of $63,740.25. The 
chief work in connection therewith was performed by a finance committee, 
consisting of C. C. Burnett, chairman; F. F. Hickox and F. L. Alcott, 
vice-chairmen; Myron T. Herrick, treasurer; Henry Humphreys, secre- 
tary; William Edwards, George T. Mcintosh, Henry S. Blossom, C. F. 
Brush, and John Meckes. All expenses of the celebration were eventually 
paid, leaving a balance in the treasury. 



THE HISTOR J ' ( >/■" ( /./•; / 'EL. 1 ND. 523 



of a general character, a great task was undertaken in se- 
curing and providing for various conventions, and other 
gatherings, that were to be a part of this summer of pa- 
triotic celebration. A department, under the control of 
the women of Cleveland, was added, and to it was as- 
signed the work of seeing that the part taken by women 
in the building up of Cleveland, should be fittingly rec- 
ognized and commemorated. 

It was decided that the series of events for the Centen- 
nial summer should commence with July 19th, the Sab- 
bath preceding the anniversary of July 22nd, and end 
with September 10th, the day made memorable by Com- 
modore Perry's decisive victory on Lake Erie. The main 
features of the programme may be briefly outlined, as 
follows : 

July 19th. — Sacred and patriotic selections on Trinity 
Cathedral chimes, at 8 a.m.; Centennial services in the 
churches, at 10.30 a. m. ; citizens' mass meeting in the 
Central Armory, at 2.30 p. m. ; mass meeting of German 
Lutheran congregations of Cleveland and vicinity, in 
Music Hall, at 2.30 p. m. ; Centennial services in the 
churches, at 7.30 p. m. ; mass meeting of German Protest- 
ant congregations in Central Armory, at 7.30 p. m. 

July 20th.- — Opening of the Ohio National Guard, and 
United States Regulars' encampment, at Camp Moses 
Cleaveland, at 2.30 p. m. ; opening of Centennial exhibi- 
tion of Cleveland School of Art, at 8 p. m. 

July 2 1 st. — Opening of the log-cabin on the Public 
Square, at 2 p. m. ; reception at the cabin, by the women 
of the Early Settlers' Association, between 10 a. m. and 
5 p. m. ; Centennial concert, at 7.30 p. m. 

July 22nd. — Founder's Day. Centennial salute, by the 
Cleveland Light Artillery, 12 midnight; national salute, 
at 5.30 a. m. ; reception of guests, 8 to 9 a.m.; public 
exercises in Central Armory, at 9.30 a. m. ; grand parade 
of military and uniformed civic organizations, at 2.30 p. 
m. ; national salute at 5.30 p. m. ; illumination of Cen- 
tennial Arch at 8 p. m., followed by historical pageant, 



5 2 4 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

''The Passing of the Century;" Centennial reeeption and 
ball at Grays' Armory, at 10 p. m. 

July 23rd. — New England Day. Boat ride and street 
railway excursion, to Ohio editors, at 9.30 and 10. 15 a. m. ; 
New England dinner, at 12.30 p. m. ; carriage ride to 
Ohio editors, at 3 p. m. ; Centennial comic opera, " From 
Moses to McKisson," in Euclid Avenue Opera House, at 
7.30 p. m. ; open air concert, at 8 p. m. 

July 24th. — Wheelmen's Day. Wheelmen's parade, 
at 3 p. m. [afterwards changed, on account of rain, to July 
27th] ; gymnastic and athletic exhibitions by united Ger- 
man, Bohemian and Swiss societies, in Central Armory, 
at 7.30 p. m. 

July 28th. — Woman's Day. Exercises in Central Ar- 
mory, from 9 a. m. to 4.15 p. m. ; reception in Grays' 
Armory, at 5.30 p. m. ; banquet, at 6.30 p. m. 

July 29th. — Early Settlers' Day. Annual meeting of 
the Early Settlers' Association, in Army and Navy Hall, 
at 9.30 a. m. ; meeting of representatives of pioneer asso- 
ciations within the Western Reserve, at 12.30 p. m. 

July 30th. — Western Reserve Day. National salute, at 
5.30 a. m. ; exercises in Central Armory, at 9.30 a. m. ; 
military and pioneer parade, at 2.30 p. m. ; open air con- 
cert, at 8 p. m. 

August 10th. — Centennial yacht regatta; to continue 
until the evening of August 13th. 

August 1 8th. — Centennial Floral Exhibition; to con- 
tinue until the evening of August 20th. 

August 22nd. — Opening of the Knights of Pythias en- 
campment: Exercises to continue until the evening of 
August 29th. 

September 7th. — Historical conference ; sections of 
education, religion, and philanthropy; to continue un- 
til the afternoon of September 9th. 

September 10th. — Perry's Victory Day. National sa- 
lute at 5.30 a. m; public exercises in Central Armory, at 
9.30 a. m. ; grand military and industrial parade, at 2.30 
p. m. ; national salute, at 5.30 p. m. ; spectacular enter- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 525 



tainment on the kike front, at 8 p. m., "The Battle of 
Lake Erie;" official banquet of the Centennial Commis- 
sion, at 9.30 p. m. 

There had been some changes in the Centennial Com- 
mission, since its formation, and, that justice may be done 
to many earnest workers not yet named, the members of 
that body, as it was constituted on the opening of the cele- 
brations, may be here given, as follows: 

Honorary President, Asa S. Bushnell. 

Honorary Secretary, Samnel G. McClure. 

President, Robert E. McKisson. 

First Vice-President, L. E. H olden. 

Second Vice-President ', A. J. Williams. 

Secretary, Edward A. Roberts. 

Treasurer^ Charles W. Chase. 

Director-General, Wilson M. Day. 

State Members : Asa S. Bnshnell, Governor; S. M. Tay- 
lor, secretary of state; W. D. Guilbert, auditor of state; 
Asa W. Jones, president of the Senate; D. L. Sleeper, 
speaker of the house. 

Municipal Members : Robert E. McKisson, Mayor; Minor 
G. Norton, director of law; Darwin E. Wright, director 
of public works; Frank A. Emerson, president of the City 
Council; H. Q. Sargent, director of schools. 

Members-at '- large : William J. Akers, H. M. Addison, 
A. T. Anderson, Bolivar Butts, Clarence E. Burke, 
Charles F. Brush, Charles W. Chase, George W. Cady, 
John C. Covert, Wilson M. Day, George Deming, Will- 
iam Edwards, Martin A. Foran, Kaufman Hays, H. R. 
Hatch, Orlando J. Hodge, L. E. Holden, James H. Hoyt, 
M. A. Hanna, John C. Hutchins, George W. Kinney, 
John Meckes, James B. Morrow, Daniel Myers, Samuel 
Mather, E. W. Oglebay, James M. Richardson, H. A. 
Sherwin, A. J. Williams, A. L. Withington, Augustus 
Zehring. 

Among those who also assisted in the labors of Centen- 
nial year, as chairmen of committees, to which special 
work was assigned, or in charge of sections and depart- 



526 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



ments, created by the Commission, the following may be 
named: Finance- Executive ', C. C. Burnett; Military, George 
A. Garretson ; Music, Byron E. Helman ; Decoration, L. N. 
Weber; Log-Cabin, Bolivar Butts ; Reception and Entertain- 
ment, Founder's Day, William Edwards; Public Observances, 
Founder's Bay, L. E. Holden ; Parade, Founder s Day and 
Western Reserve Day, J. J. Sullivan; Pageant, Founder 's 
Day, George W. Kinney; Reception and Bait, Founder s 
Day, Mrs. William Edwards; New England Dinner, New 
England Day, N. B. Sherwin ; Ohio Editors, New England 
Day, Ralph D. Williams; Bicycle Parade, J. E. Cheesman; 
Public Observances, Western Reserve and Early Settlers' Day, 
Henry W. S. Wood; Yacht Regatta, George H. Worthing- 
ton; Centennial Floral Exhibition, E. H. Cushman ; Knights 
of Pythias Encampment, James Dunn; Historical Conference, 
Section of Education, Charles F. Thwing; Section of Philan- 
thropy, J. W. Walton; Section of Religion, J. G. W. Cowles ; 
Speakers and Exercises, Perry's Victory Day, William J. 
Gleason ; Reception and Entertainment, Perry's Victory Day, 
F. H. Morris. 

The officers and executive committee of the Woman's 
Department, Centennial Commission, were as follows: 

President, Mrs. Mary B. Ingham. 

Vice-Presidents, Mrs. Mary Scranton Bradford, Mrs. Sa- 
rah E. Bierce, Mrs. Geo. Presley, Jr., Mrs. Joseph Turney. 

Recording Secretary, Mrs. Ella Sturtevant Webb. 

Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. S. P. Churchill. 

Treasurer, Miss Elizabeth Blair. 

Assistant-Treasurer, Miss Elizabeth Stanton. 

Historian, Mrs. Gertrude V. R. Wickham. 

Executive Committee : Mrs. Elroy M. Avery, chairman; 
Mrs. Charles W. Chase, Mrs. T. K. Dissette, Mrs. H. A. 
Griffin, Mrs. M. A. Hanna, Mrs. P. M. Hitchcock, Mrs. 
O. J. Hodge, Mrs. John Huntington, Mrs. F. A. Ken- 
dall. Mrs. W. B. Xeff, Mrs. N. B. Prentice, Mrs. W. G. 
Rose, Mrs. L. A. Russell, Mrs. M. B. Schwab, Mrs. 
Charles H. Weed, Mrs. A. J. Williams. 

The formal opening of these prolonged and varied re- 



THE HIS TORY OF ( L E I ' EL AND. 



527 



joicings, in which patriotic Cleveland was to testify of the 
many good things scattered along its first hundred years 
of lusty life, was fittingly found in the uplifting of many 
voices in that grand and appropriate chorns from Elijah, 
" Thanks be to God!" In this noble strain the reverent 
gratitude of the people found expression. Already the 
chimes of Trinity had rung out selections from national 
and sacred airs ; already had the churches of the city, dur- 




mmmmmmmm 

EUCLID AVENUE, FROM ERIE STREET. 

ing the morning hours of this Sabbath day, set the seal 
of sermon, and song, and prayer, in approval of the cele- 
bration of the Centennial year. 

A great concourse of people had gathered in the Cen- 
tral Armory, on the afternoon of Sunday, July 19th. The 
hall was fittingly decorated, the starry flag, of course, be- 
ing displayed in every quarter. All classes of citizens 



528 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

were represented, and on the platform sat members of the 
Centennial Commission and committees, leading clergy- 
men of various denominations, officers of the city govern- 
ment and Chamber of Commerce, and others who had 
aided the work in various ways. A large number of local 
organizations, military and fraternal, were also in attend- 
ance, in uniform. 

The order of exercises was opened by J. G. W. Cowles, 
chairman of the Committee on Section of Religion, who 
asked the Cleveland Vocal Society to render the great 
hymn of thanksgiving, spoken of above. Prayer was then 
offered by the Right Rev. Bishop William A. Leonard, 
and at the conclusion, the entire audience, with heads 
bowed in reverence, accompanied him in the Lord's 
Prayer. 

Mr. Cowles, as chairman of the section having this 
gathering in charge, then delivered a thoughtful and 
impressive address, in which he outlined the causes 
which, set at work one hundred years ago, had produced 
such wonderful effects. In opening, he struck the key- 
note of the occasion when he said: "In this historic hour, 
closing the century, we are gathered here, without distinc- 
tion of race, or sect, or creed, to review the records and 
recall the memories of the first one hundred years of our 
city's life. What can be more appropriate than that this 
first Centennial observance should be upon the Sabbath 
day? And, from what higher summit, or with what clearer 
and larger outlook, can we survey this period, than from 
the standpoint of religion?" In conclusion, he said: 
"What I have said is introductory, and suggestive only. 
It is for those who follow to exhibit, in various colors and 
relations, the religious life and progress of this city. In 
the great world-order, the Jew stands first, the Catholic 
next, and the Protestant last. But in our local history, 
the Protestant was the pioneer, followed, after thirty-nine 
years, by the Catholic, and, after forty-three years, by the 
Jewish church. The contributions of each one of these 
factors and faiths have been of incalculable value to this 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

community and to mankind. Let each one speak for his 
faith, from his separate point of view, and speak well, for 

each faith deserves to be well spoken of." 

In response to this broad and noble-minded invitation, 
addresses were delivered by Rev. Levi Gilbert, repre- 
senting the Protestant churches; Mgr. T. P. Thorpe, the 
Catholie ehureh, and Rabbi Moses J. Gries, the Jewish 
chureh. Prayer was offered by Rev. Herman J. Ruete- 
nik, and these opening exereises came to a close by the 
entire assembly joining in the hymn, "Nearer, my (rod. 
to Thee!" 

During the same afternoon, the various German Luther- 
an congregations of the city gathered in mass meeting in 
Music Hall, in like observance of the opening of Cle\-e- 
land's Centennial. The exercises "were conducted almost 
entirely in German. The chair was occupied by Rev. 
Paul Schwan. The pastors of nearly all the congrega- 
tions represented, were present on the platform. The 
only decorations were the American flag, and in front of 
the stage was a banner bearing these words : ' ' Praise God 
from Whom all Blessings Flow." Prayers, speeches, 
and songs were the means employed by the patriotic Ger- 
mans to show that they also claimed a part in the past of 
Cleveland, and were ready to do honor to the present. 
Addresses were delivered by Rev. H. YVeseloh, Rev. W. 
H. Lothmann, of Akron, and the Rev. John AVepel, of 
Zanesville. 

In the evening, there 'were further Centennial services 
in the churches, and yet another mass meeting, of German 
Protestant congregations, in Central Armory. Rev. F. 
Friedrich presided. The exercises were opened by a 
hymn and prayer, after which Mayor McKisson was in- 
troduced and made a brief address, the beginning of which 
was as follows : l ' This day has marked the opening of our 
long anticipated Centennial celebration. After many 
months of waiting and planning, a period of rejoicing, 
over the completion of one hundred years of the city's 
history, has arrived. This mass meeting is a mark of the 



S3o THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

strength of our German citizenship, and an earnest of 
your lively interest in the welfare and prosperity of our 
municipality." 

Director-General Day was then introduced, and in a 
brief but stirring address paid a fitting tribute to the Ger- 
man character and German patriotism. In conclusion, he 
said : ' k May the churches which you represent ever be 
the fountains of the purest religion, the broadest culture, 
and the highest patriotism. In the name of the Centen- 
nial Commission, I greet you. God save the Fatherland! 
God save America!" 

This conclusion touched a responsive chord, and the 
applause lasted for several moments. The entire audi- 
ence then arose and joined in singing " America." 

An address in German was delivered by Rev. J. H. C. 
Roentgen, whose theme was the immigration of Germans 
into Cleveland, and its results. Rev. G. Heinmiller then 
spoke on "A History of the German Churches of Cleve- 
land. ' ' He gave a comprehensive review of the strug- 
gles of the early German Church in this city, and in Ohio. 
A hymn, followed by prayer, brought the evening's ex- 
ercises to a close. 

Monday, July 20th, witnessed the opening of the en- 
campment of the Ohio National Guard, and United States 
Regulars, which had been established on the farm of J. 
B. Perkins, to the west of the city, and appropriately 
named "Camp Moses Cleaveland." At three o 'clock in 
the afternoon, Hon. Asa S. Bushnell, governor of Ohio, 
arrived at the camp grounds, accompanied by members 
of his staff, Robert E. McKisson, mayor of Cleveland; J. 
G. W. Cowles, president of the Chamber of Commerce, 
and other distinguished gentlemen. The day had been 
one of rain and clouds, but at that hour a truce was. called, 
and a short period of sunshine ensued. 

The troops formed a hollow square about the Governor's 
party, who were standing by the flagstaff in the center of 
the camp. L. E. Holden, representing the Centennial 
Commission, then introduced Mayor McKisson, who after 



1'IIE HISTORY (>/■ CLEVELAND. jjj 



an eloquent speech, in turn introduced the Governor, in 
these words: "I now take pleasure in presenting, on be- 
half of the Centennial Commission, to Governor Bushnell, 
as commander-in-chief, this end-of-the-century encamp- 
ment, to be known as Camp Moses Cleaveland." 

The Governor said : "Mr. Chairman and Mayor McKis- 
son. officers and men of the Ohio National Guard, and 
officers and men of the Regular Army : 

" When freedom from her mountain height 
Unfurled her banner to the air, 
She tore the azure robe of night 

And placed the stars of glory there ! ' ' 

At this moment the halyard was pulled, and the Star 
Spangled Banner shook out, in all its glory, under the now 
darkening skies, while the battery down below boomed 
its salute of twenty-one sains, in unison with the mightier 
artillery, which the elements had set rolling overhead. 

The speech of acceptance of the camp, which followed, 
was brief, earnest, and to the point. Addressing the 
mayor, the Governor said: ^ I desire to thank you, and 
through you, the people of your magnificent city, for the 
generous gift of this camp, and I hereby accept it for the 
State, and dedicate it for the uses for which you present 
it, and christen it ' Camp Moses Cleaveland," in honor of 
the founder of your beautiful city." It was in a down- 
pour of heavy rain that these words of dedication were 
uttered, and because of this the exercises came to an end. 

Under the immediate advice and direction of those who 
had been, in their earlier days, sheltered in structures of 
that character, a log-cabin, fashioned upon the real sub- 
stantial lines of pioneer architecture, had been constructed 
by the Centennial managers, on the northeast quarter of 
the Public Square, and July 21st had been set aside for 
its dedication. 

The human eye, and the human mind, can quite readily 
grasp any lesson taught by contrasts. In no better or 
more telling way could the advance of this completed 
centurv be shown than bv the location of this facsimile of 



532 fHE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

the pioneer dwelling under the very shadows of the great 
structures surrounding it. The mind was carried back to 
that day when General Cleaveland and his aids awoke 
the echoes of theTXiyahoga Valley with the sturdy strokes 
that created that first cabin, in which they found a home 
and headquarters during the summer of 1 796 ; or that 
earlier "Castle Stow," down on the Conneaut River, that 
excited the amused wonder of even the children of the 
forest. 

Many of the beloved mothers and fathers of Cleveland 
gathered within this rude structure, to assist in its dedica- 
tion. At 2 p. m., Chairman Bolivar Butts, of the Com- 
mittee on Reception, introduced Richard C. Parsons, 
chairman of the day. Colonel Parsons thanked Mr. Butts 
for the honor conferred, and then introduced the Rev. 
Lathrop Cooley, who asked the divine blessing upon the 
occasion. 

The Arion Quartet sang "My Country! Itis of thee," 
after which Mr. Parsons made a brief but eloquent ad- 
dress, in which he paid a fitting tribute to the log-cabin 
as the birthplace and home of some of our greatest men. 
Among other things, he said: "We come this day, not 
to dedicate the log-cabin, or inaugurate its use in Ohio. 
We come to honor and pay to it our most sincere homage 
of admiration and regard. We see in it the veritable 
symbol of our earliest civilization, in this country, and set- 
tlement in Ohio. The log-cabin is the cradle of the old 
statesmen of Ohio, the nursery of her stalwart sons and 
daughters. It has long been dedicated to the service of 
man and the house of God." 

Speeches were then made by Mayor McKisson, James 
Lawrence, and W. S. Kerruish. Gen. J. J. El well was 
called upon, and in the course of his brief remarks made 
this telling comparison : ' ' From this cabin to the build- 
ing of the Society for Savings [just across the street] is an 
object-lesson of what has been done in Cleveland, more 
impressive and instructive than anything I can say. Look 
at them as they stand! The log-cabin, with no money — 



THE HIS TORY OF ( 7. E I ' EL AND. 



533 



not a cent. The bank, with twenty or thirty millions, be- 
longing to the citizens o( Cleveland and the county. 
From poverty to wealth, is the story they tell." 

George F. Marshall, a pioneer of Cleveland, whose pen 
and voiee have given us so many bright and humorous 
accounts of the early days, next made one of his charac- 
teristic speeches. He spoke feelingly of those who had 




THE PRESENT ST. PAUL S EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



worked so well to lay the foundations of our city and 
State so broad and deep. "These men have long since 
passed away," said he, "and with each name, with scarce 
an exception, was a woman who shared the joys and sor- 
rows of those who helped to make the far-famed Western 
Reserve one of the proudest districts of modern times. 
Since those pioneers have passed away, the generations 



534 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

which followed them would like to be rated as 'pioneers,' 
but thev have encountered none of that wrestling: with 
nature which the men were engaged in eighty or ninety 
years ago. Few who are here to-day may be regarded as 
pioneers. We are all too young to claim such honor. 
The first cabins were of the earth earthy ; the last ones 
try to reach the sky." 

This brought the formal exercises to an end. The 
women of the Early Settlers' Association held a reception 
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and entertained many visitors. 
Great interest was shown in the many relics and heir- 
looms with which the cabin was stocked. All through 
the summer of celebration, this log-cabin was one of the 
things which the visitor would make sure to see. 

The evening of " Log-Cabin Day," as it might well 
have been called, witnessed the Centennial concert ar- 
ranged for that occasion. It was held in the Central Ar- 
mory. One feature of especial attraction was the grand 
historical musical spectacle, entitled "Battles of our Na- 
tion." It covered the military history of our country for 
a hundred years. The music was furnished by Conter- 
no's Ninth Regiment Band, of New York City. The 
choruses were sung by the Cleveland Vocal Society, and 
the military maneuvers were executed by a company of 
the local organizations. 

Founder's Day was, indeed, celebrated in a manner 
which showed that Cleveland was awake to the require- 
ments of the occasion. When the minute-hand marked 
the hour of twelve, and Wednesday, July 22, 1896, stood 
upon the threshold of recorded time, the guns of the 
Light Artillery boomed forth their thunders, as a sign that 
the first hundred years of Cleveland's existence had been 
completed. Sunrise heard a national salute, and al- 
though the day gave little promise of good weather, the 
people universally made holiday. 

The chief event of the summer was set for 9.30 a. m. 
of this anniversary day. Central Armory was again 
thrown open to a great throng. Exercises had been ar- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



ranged for a joint mass meeting, in which ( )ld Connecticut 
and New Connecticut should together celebrate the anni- 
versary of an event of importance in the annals of both. 
The chief magistrates of both Connecticut and Ohio were 
present, accompanied by other honored sons of the two 
States. 

It was near the stroke of ten, when H. R. Hatch, of the 
Centennial Commission, came upon the stage, accompanied 
by Joseph R. Hawley, United States Senator from Connect- 
icut, the principal orator of the day. Then came Mayor 
McKisson, Director-General Day, and James H. Hoyt, the 
chairman of the day; Asa S. Bushnell, governor of Ohio, 
and O. Vincent Coffin, governor of Connecticut; William 
McKinley, ex-governor of Ohio, and Republican nominee 
for President of the United States; John Sherman, United 
States Senator from Ohio ; Richard C. Parsons, ex-Govern- 
or Merriam, of Minnesota, and other gentlemen who had 
been invited to seats of honor upon the platform. 

When the applause which greeted these distinguished 
gentlemen had subsided, Mayor McKisson, president of 
the Centennial Commission, called the gathering to order, 
and in a short and appropriate speech welcomed those 
who were present as the guests of Cleveland upon this 
occasion: "To formally open this patriotic celebration," 
said he, "and welcome to our beautiful city our distin- 
guished guests, is a great honor. I speak the pride of our 
citizens when I greet you to-day, and extend to you our hos- 
pitality and our fraternal hand of fellowship. To all of 
our guests, whether from the East or the West, from far or 
near, we dedicate this day, our city, and all it has or is. ' ' 

James H. Hoyt was introduced as chairman of the day. 
As a preface to his remarks, he read the following mes- 
sage from the President of the United States, which was 
received with great applause : 

" Buzzard's Bay, July 22, 1896. 
"Wilson M. Day, Director-General: I congratulate the City of Cleve- 
land upon the close of her first century, with the wish that it is but the 
beginning of her greatness and prosperity. 

" Grover Cleveland." 



jj6 THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 

Mr. Hoyt's speech was eloquent, and breathed a spirit 
of appreciation of the labors performed by the founders 
of Cleveland, and of the responsibilities of the present in 
connection with the fruits of the future. Said he: "When 
Moses Cleaveland and his companions made their memor- 
able landing, they could not have realized, even in small 
measure, what that landing meant. The silent forests did 
not prophesy, and the placid river gave no sign. Their 
present was perilous, and their future was uncertain. 
Yet, a short century after, and a city with a population 
of more than a third of a million ; a city whose commerce 
reaches distant climes, and whose vessels plow distant 
waters; a city of wealth, of refinement, of enterprise, 
stands now where its sturdy pioneers then stood. 
They labored for others, and not for themselves. Theirs 
was the toil and suffering, and ours is the goodly herit- 
age. Theirs was the privation and danger, and ours is 
the comfort and peace. They planted, that we might 
reap. The pioneers sacrified much for us. Let us, in 
turn, sacrifice something for those who shall come after 
us. On this Founder's Day, let us pledge ourselves 
anew to guard the trusts they have committed to our 
keeping. 

The divine blessing upon the occasion was then invoked 
by the Rev. Charles S. Mills. Senator Hawley was in- 
troduced, and delivered the main address of the day. His 
oration was largely historical in character, dealing with 
the settlement of New Connecticut, and making special 
extended mention of the descendants of Connecticut, who 
had made their mark in connection with the history of 
Ohio. He followed General Cleaveland and his party 
into the wilderness, and summarized their labors and the 
results that have come therefrom. He then passed to a 
discussion of the questions that are demanding considera- 
tion and solution in the present, and in an able and 
thoughtful manner suggested the course of patriotism in 
connection therewith. 

John J. Piatt, the poet, then read the Centennial ode, 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. S37 



which the Commission had invited him to prepare lor the 
occasion. It was a song of praise — 

" Praise to the sower of the seed, 

The planter of the tree — 
What though another for the harvest gold 

The ready sickle hold, 
Or breathe the blossom, watch the fruit unfold ? 

Enough for him, indeed, 
That he should plant the tree, should sow the seed, 
And earn the reaper's guerdon, even if he 

Should not the reaper be. ' ' 

The next speaker was (). Vincent Coffin, governor of 
Connecticut, who had come for the purpose of bearing the 
greetings of the parent commonwealth to this lusty off- 
spring in the West. He paid a just tribute to the State of 
which he was the official head, and fittingly said: " It is 
desired that I suggest some thoughts, here in New Con- 
necticut, about the little State down by the sea, which I 
have the honor in part to represent, and which may well 
be designated as mother of states. In the early days, it 
has been claimed Connecticut held by grant a wide sec- 
tion, extending westerly to the ocean. Portions of this 
section now form parts of at least thirteen different States. 
But Connecticut gave up nearly all this territory, reserv- 
ing here in Ohio the large tract known as the Western 
Reserve. Here, where we are met, her people prepared 
the ground for a great city, which is now set as the most 
beautiful of gems in the crown of your queenly common- 
wealth. Our pride in our own State mounts rapidly as 
we contemplate her splendid daughter, and remember 
what glory of motherhood is hers. 

It was at the conclusion of Governor Coffin's speech 
that Chairman Hoyt suspended the formal order of exer- 
cises, to permit J. G. W. Cowles to make announcement 
of the magnificent additions to Cleveland's park system, 
which had come through the generosity of John D. Rock- 
efeller. The details of that gift have been related in a 
previous chapter. It is only necessary to say here that 
all the negotiations and other steps that led to this gift, 



SS 8 THE HISTOR Y OF CLE V ELAND. 

had been conducted with such secrecy that no inkling had 
come to the people until this moment of the good fortune 
that was to be a part of Founder's Day. The burst of ap- 
plause with which the announcement was received, was 
significant evidence of the appreciative gratitude of the 
people. 

At the conclusion of Mr. Cowles's address, L. E. Holden 
offered a resolution of thanks and acceptance, coupled 
with a request that Mr. Rockefeller permit the new park 
to bear his name. The people arose, as one, in adoption 
of the resolution. 

The official programme was then resumed. Asa S. 
Bushnell, governor of Ohio, was introduced, and, in behalf 
of the State, welcomed the Governor of Connecticut and 
the other distinguished guests. " To the entire State, 
from this Forest City on the lake," said he, "this Clyde 
of the United States, to the beautiful Queen City on the 
southern borders of the State, and from old Marietta, 
where an Ohio community was established by forty- eight 
Connecticut men, to Conneaut, where Moses Cleaveland 
first landed, the State is yours. In the name of all the 
people of Ohio, I extend you a most cordial welcome." 

At the conclusion of this address, William McKinley 
was introduced, and was received with long and enthusi- 
astic applause. The esteem in which he was held as a 
neighbor and friend, the admiration for his career as a 
soldier and a statesman, and the fact that he was then a 
candidate for President of the United States, served to 
make him the central figure of the occasion, and caused 
the people to be demonstrative in their welcome. When 
quiet had been restored, Major McKinley delivered a 
brief but thoughtful speech, extolling the character of the 
pioneer, and pointing out his fortitude, his love of liberty, 
and the many sterling qualities that made him what he 
was. He spoke of Cleveland and her achievements in a 
strain of high appreciation. "To-day the present genera- 
tion pays its homage to Cleveland's founders," said he, 
" and offers a generous and unqualified testimonial to 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 539 



their wisdom and work. The statistics of the population 

of Cleveland, her growth, production, and wealth, do not, 
and cannot, tell the story of her greatness. We have 
been Listening to the interesting and eloquent words of 
historian, poet, and orator, graphically describing her rise 
from obscurity to prominence. They have woven into a 
perfect narrative the truthful, yet established, record of her 
advancement, from an unknown frontier settlement, in 
the western wilderness, to the proud rank of eleventh city 
in the greatest country — America — the grandest country 
in the world. We have heard, with just pride, how mar- 
velous has been her progress ; that among the greatest 
cities of the earth, but sixty-two now outrank Cleveland 
in population. Her life is as one century to twenty, with 
some of that number. Yet her civilization is as far ad- 
vanced as the proudest metropolis in the world. In point 
of government, education, morals, business thrift, and 
enterprise, Cleveland may well claim recognition with 
the foremost, and is fairly entitled to the warmest con- 
gratulations and highest eulogy on this her centenary 
day. Nor will any envy her people a season of self -con- 
gratulation and rejoicing. You inaugurate, to-day, a 
Centennial celebration in honor of your illustrious past, 
and its beginning is, with singular appropriateness, called 
Founder's Day. We have heard, with interest, the enu- 
meration of the commercial importance of this city, a 
port on a chain of lakes, whose tonnage and commerce 
surpasses that on any other sea or ocean on the globe. 
We realize the excellence and superiority of the great 
railroad systems which touch the center of this city. We 
marvel at the volume and variety of your numerous 
manufactories, and see about us, on every hand, the 
pleasant evidences of your comfort and culture ; not only 
in the hospitable homes, but in your churches, schools, 
charities, factories, business houses; your \ T arious streets 
and viaducts, public parks, statues and monuments — in- 
deed, in your conveniences, adornments and improvements 
of every sort, we behold all the advantages and blessings 



54o 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



of the model modern city, worthy to be'both the pride of 
a great city and a still greater nation ! ' ' 

Hon. John Sherman, the senior senator from Ohio — 
himself not only a son of Ohio, but a descendant from 
Connecticut parentage — followed Major McKinley. The 
applause which he received was not merely a tribute to a 
tried and true statesman, but also a recognition of the 




THE HOLLEXDEN HOTEL. 



personal respect in which he was held by the people he 
had represented for so many years. He spoke of Cleve- 
land as a city of workshops and factories. "We must 
never lose sight of the fact," he continued, "that it is the 
workingmen who develop the resources and beautify the 
streets and avenues of a great city. Men, not only men 
who work dailv with their hands, but those who work in 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, 541 

their early lives, and at last make gifts to the community 

of magnificent public parkways, may be included in this 
category. 

Miles Preston, the mayor of Hartford, Conn., was then 

introduced, but contented himself with briefly extending 
the greeting of the people of his city to those of the City 
of Cleveland. A benediction was pronounced by the Rev. 
Samuel V . Sprecher, and the formal exercises of Found- 
er's Day came to an end. During these, selections had 
been sung by the Cleveland Vocal Society, the audience 
joining their voices in those of a patriotic character. 

In the afternoon, came the parade of military and uni- 
formed civic organizations. It was witnessed by an im-. 
mense concourse of people, and was in itself, perhaps, the 
greatest military and civic display seen by Cleveland in 
her century of existence. A reviewing stand, on Superior 
street, in front of the City Hall, with a capacity of nearly 
five hundred, was filled with prominent citizens and dis- 
tinguished guests, among whom were Major McKinley, 
Governors Coffin, Bushnell, and Merriam, and Senators 
Sherman and Hawley. These gentlemen, with the mem- 
bers of the Centennial Commission, municipal officers, 
and officers of the Chamber of Commerce, rode in car- 
riages in the van of the procession, until the stand was 
reached, when they alighted and reviewed the long line 
as it passed before them. 

The forenoon had been discouraging, with a drizzle of 
rain that promised no cessation, but just as the parade 
was forming, the clouds parted, and the sun came forth. 
The city had made gala day, and the decorations in sight 
in all directions were outward svmbols of that fact. 

The right of the procession was on Lake street, near 
"Water street, and the various divisions formed on the in- 
tersecting streets, as far east as Erie street and Payne 
avenue. The forward movement occurred a few minutes 
before three o'clock. The line of march was from Lake 
street to Water street, to Superior street, to the east side 
of the Public Square, to Euclid avenue, to Brownell 



542 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



street, to Prospeet street, to Kennard street, to Euclid 
avenue, to Erie street, to Superior street, where it passed 
in review, and dismissed after passing under the Centen- 
nial Arch. 

Col. J. J. Sullivan, chief marshal, rode at the head'of 
the line, accompanied by a mounted staff. The Xinth 
New York Regiment Band, and Troop A, Ohio National 




CUYAHOGA BUILDING. 

Guard, came next, as an escort to the carriages containing 
the Centennial officials and the guests. It is not possible, 
in the space here permitted, to attempt an enumeration 
of the scores and scores of organizations, military and 
civic, that made up this great procession. Among them 
were the local military of Cleveland, regiments of the 
Ohio National Guard, bodies of the United States Regu- 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 543 

lars. Knights of St. John, odd Pellows, Knights of Pyth- 
ias, Veteran Volunteer Fire Department, Cleveland 
Fire Department, Cleveland Letter Carriers' Association, 
Grand Army of the Republic, etc., etc. As was said of this 
parade by a chronicler s,i in the local press, " There were 
more military organizations in the column than ever trod 
the streets of Cleveland at one time, on a gala occasion. 
There was an army of armed men, representing all 
branches of land service, of sufficient size to repulse an 
enormous force, if called into active duty. There were 
many representative men in line, — men who have been the 
bone and sinew of Cleveland, and who have been respon- 
sible for the wonderful progress which all Cleveland 
turned out to celebrate. There were men of national 
fame; those who have been identified with this nation's 
prosperity for a score of years or more. There were rep- 
resentatives of the State that gave the first settlers to the 
Western Reserve, and which have ever shown a sort of 
paternalism for Northern Ohio. It was, perhaps, the 
most representative parade that was ever seen in Cleve- 
land." 

At 5.30 p. m., the guns again boomed forth the national 
salute. Long before darkness fell, great multitudes filled 
the streets, not only in the lower portions of the city, but 
also all along the line of march of the historical pageant 
that was to be the main feature of the evening. 

The Centennial Arch, that had been erected on the 
Public Square, with the log-cabin on the one hand, and 
the Soldiers' Monument on the other, was ready to burst 
into a blaze of light, when the chief magistrate of the 
nation should give the signal, in his far-away home. 
This imposing structure had been planned with due care 
to architecture, and presented a pleasing attraction to the 
eye, even before the lights were made a part of its adorn- 
ment. 

At 8. 1 5, President Cleveland touched the electric button, 
in his home at Buzzard's Bay, and the arch burst into a 

s,i " Cleveland Leader," July 23, 1896. 



S44 THE HIS TOR Y OF CLE VELA ND. 

flame of light, amid the cheers of the watching thousands. 

All eyes were then turned in the direction of the his- 
torical pageant, "The Passing of the Century," which 
had been arranged with such expense and care. The line 
of march was from the corner of Seneca and Superior 
streets to Erie street, to Euclid avenue, to Kennard street, 
to Prospect street, to Case avenue, to Central avenue, to 
Brownell street, to Prospect street, to Bolivar street, to 
the Grays' Armory. 

Mounted police headed the line, followed by George 
W. Kinney, grand master of ceremonies, and staff, aides- 
de-camp, trumpeters, heralds, bands, and then the 
floats — twenty-four in all. These were, in the order of 
march here named, " Progress," " Cleveland of 1796," 
" Sunday," " Monday," " Tuesday," " Wednesday," 
"Thursday," "Friday," "Saturday," "January," "Feb- 
ruary," "March," "April," "May," "June," "July," 
"August," "September," "October," "November," 
"December," " The Year," " Passing of the Century," 
" Cleveland of. 1896." 

The floats symbolical of the days and months were, in 
subject, taken largely from mythology, and showed a 
thorough knowledge of the subject, and artistic execution. 
The " Passing of the Century" showed Father Time on 
the back of a huge bird. In "Cleveland in 1796," an In- 
dian tent was seen near the banks of the Cuyahoga River, 
while in front of it Moses Cleaveland was shown in the 
act of running the first line of the city. Other pioneers, 
with axe and spade, were preparing for the first settlement. 
" Cleveland in 1896," by appropriate symbols, repre- 
sented commerce, art, and all the industries, while at the 
rear stood a large dome, surmounted by an eagle. 

The exercises of this memorable Founder's Day ended 
with a grand Centennial reception and ball 87 at the Grays' 

S7 ' ' Yesterday was a day never to be forgotten in the history of Cleve- 
land. It was a fitting celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the 
founding of a town, destined to become one of the greatest cities of the 
Republic. There is cause for universal rejoicing that the celebration has 
been so auspiciously opened." — " Cleveland Plain Dealer," July 23, 1896. 



THE HIS Ti )R )■(>/■( 7. E I 'ELAND. 545 



Armory, which was one of the most successful ever wit- 
nessed in Cleveland. 

The strains o{ the music in the Armory had hardly died 
away before the patriotic sons and daughters of Connecti- 
cut, of Rhode Island, of Massachusetts, were engaged in 
preparations for New England Day, as this 23rd of July 
had been officially designated. 

The chief event was the New England dinner, spread on 
the campus of Adelbert College, and given under the au- 
spices of the New England Society of Cleveland and the 
Western Reserve. Two large tents had been spread, and 
beneath them, at 12.30 p. m., gathered some five hundred 
guests, among whom were Senator Hawley, Senator Sher- 
man, Major McKinley, Governor Bushnell, and many of 
the Ohio editors, who were the city's guests on that day. 
The food was placed upon long tables, each guest serving 
his neighbor and himself. From the bean porridge to 
the Vermont turkey, it was supposed to represent the fare 
of New England in the early days. Dinner over, N. B. 
Sherwin, president of the New England Society, called 
the assemblage to order, and introduced Senator Hawley 
as the first speaker. He responded in a brief address, the 
central thought of which was that the Puritan had an idea 
that God had put him into the world to do a certain work, 
and that idea made him an earnest, persevering man, who 
accomplished much in his pursuit of an ideal State that 
should stand for religion and free government. 

Brief speeches were also made by Senator Sherman, 
Governor Bushnell, Major McKinley, A. Kennedy Child, 
of the Hartford (Conn.) Board of Aldermen, and John T. 
Mack, president of the Association of Ohio Dailies. All 
these addresses were brief, to the point, and filled with 
tributes to New England, and this newer New England 
of the West. 

The programme arranged for the entertainment of the 
Ohio editors was fully carried out. There was an early 
meeting at the Hollenden Hotel, a trip on the lake in the 
steamer " City of Buffalo," a trolley ride over the prin- 



S4& THE HIS TOR Y OF CLE V ELAND. 

cipal lines, the dinner under the tents on Adelbert cam- 
pus, a tally-ho ride through Wade and Gordon parks, and 
a lunch and reception at the Artemus Ward Club. 

The Euclid Avenue Opera House was filled, in the even- 
ing, by a brilliant audience assembled to witness the first 
presentation of the Centennial opera, " From Moses to 
McKisson," by the Gatling Gun Battery. The opera 
was voted a great success, both in its subject-matter and 
in the manner in which it was presented. 

The next day that was formally given over to Centen- 
nial holiday-making was Monday, July 27th, when the 
great bicycle parade occurred. It was an event that 
would have been difficult to describe to the Clevelanders 
of a hundred years ago. No witness of these brilliant 
and rapidly-moving columns that wheeled along the 
streets of the city could fail to ponder the fact that this 
was a sight possible only in the closing days of the nine- 
teenth century — a wonderful triumph of modern mechan- 
ical skill. 

There were nine divisions in all. The line formed in 
Wade Park, at 2 p. m., and moved over the following 
streets and avenues: Euclid, Bolton, East Prospect, 
Sibley, Kennard, Euclid, the Public Square, Superior, 
Erie, Chestnut, Dodge, Euclid to the east of Willson, 
and there disbanded. 

''Not since the Centennial ceremonies began," says one 
local chronicler, 88 "has there been such a turn-out of 
people as filled the eight miles of parade route in Cleve- 
land yesterday. The military had their thousands, but 
the wheelmen had their tens of thousands of admirers." 
The story of this parade cannot be better told than in the 
graphic language of this witness : "What a unique parade 
it was ! No such kaleidoscope of color has filled Cleve- 
land's streets in many a day. The nations of the earth 
were represented. Gaily decorated yachts, with colors 
flying from every mast and stay, glided down the open 
stream, their sails filling with gentle breezes, that set 

88 " Cleveland Plain Dealer," July 28, 1896. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 547 



their flags fluttering. Butterflies of gaudy hue skimmed 
silently over the pavement. Progs with goggle eyes, In- 
dians in war paint, Arabs in scarlet fezes, white troops of 
sweet girl graduates, Romeos in doublets and trunks, 
Topsys and Sambos, almond-eyed Japs, Uncle Sams of all 
ages, «and Goddesses of Liberty without number, flitted 
past, until the spectators grew dizzy watching the con- 
stantly revolving wheels." 

The line was headed by a platoon of police on wheels, 
and just behind came Grand Marshal Carlos M. Stone, and 
J. E. Cheesman, chief of staff. A reviewing stand on 
Superior street was occupied by Major McKinley, Direct- 
or-General Day, Adjutant-General H. A. Axline, and other 
prominent gentlemen. 

The exercises of Woman's Day, Tuesday, July 28th. 
furnished convincing evidence that the women of Cleve- 
land, and of the Western Reserve, had most nobly and ably 
fulfilled the trust committed to their hands. At 8.30 a. 
m., a committee of ladies rode to the Public Square and 
wreathed the bronze Moses Cleaveland with flowers. 

At 9 a. m., the formal exercises in Central Armory 
commenced, with Mrs. Mary B. Ingham, president of the 
Woman's Department of the Centennial Commission, pre- 
siding. Only the briefest mention of the good and brilliant 
things that were there provided is possible here. Rev. 
S. P. Sprecher offered prayer, after which Wilson M. 
Day, director-general, made the opening address. 
" Through good and evil report," said he, " the women 
have stood by this Centennial. The Centennial Commis- 
sion owes an inextinguishable debt of gratitude to the 
women of Cleveland for their patriotic and self-sacrificing 
efforts in behalf of this celebration. Prompt to answer to 
the call for assistance, ready in suggestion and execution, 
undismayed by obstacles often most disheartening, intel- 
ligent and comprehensive in planning, loyal to every re- 
quest of the Commission, yet absolutely independent of 
any assistance, they T have done so well that we could not 
wish it better." 



548 THE HISTOR V OF CLE V ELAND. 



Mrs. James A. Garfield, honorary chairman of the de- 
partment, presented Mrs. Ingham as president of the day. 
Among the exercises that occurred, from that time until 
adjournment, at 4.15 p. m., the following must be men- 
tioned : The department of philanthropy was considered 
for an hour, under the leadership of Mrs. Dan P. Eells. 
Mrs. F. A. Arter read a paper on the Young Women's Chris- 
tian Association ; other papers on other lines of benevolent 
work were read by Mrs. L. A. Russell, Mrs. M. B. 
Schwab, Mrs. E. J. Blandin, Mrs. Ellen J. Phinney, and 
Mrs. Sarah M. Perkins. Miss Linda T. Guilford presided 
during the hour devoted to household economics, and an 
address on "A Stronger Home" was made by Mrs. Helen 
Campbell. 

From 12 m. to 1.30 p. m.,a reception was held and 
luncheon served to the township historians, and other 
visitors. The first hour of the afternoon was given to 
"Woman's Clubs," Mrs. Elroy M. Avery presiding. A 
pleasing address of congratulation and commendation was 
made by Mayor Robert E. McKisson. J. G. W. Cowles, 
president of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, also 
delivered a brief address. Mrs. Benjamin F. Taylor read 
an able paper on "Women's Clubs." Miss Hannah Fos- 
ter, author of the Centennial Ode of the woman's section, 
was next introduced, and read an extended poem of rare 
force and power, the key-note of which was found in 
these opening lines : 

" Rose, flourished long, grew old, then fell asleep, 
The hundred-gated city of the Nile ; 
But not of her, deep sepulchered, the while 
Forgotten centuries her records keep ; 
Xor Venice, smiling still with studied grace, 
Into the mirror that reflects her face ; 
Xor once imperial Rome, whose name and fame 
So ruled the world ; old pomp, and power, and pride — 
Xot those to-day ! With warmer, quicker tide 
Our pulses thrill ! On sacred altars flame 
Pure patriot fires of love and loyalty, 
While ready hands the Stars and Stripes outfling 
And ' Cleveland,' past and present, and to be, 
Aye, ' Greater Cleveland, ' her proud sons and daughters sing ! ' ' 



THE HISTORY OF ( LEVELAND. 549 



The second hour of the afternoon was given up to the 
subject of education, Mrs. Lydia Hoyt Parmer presiding. 
A paper on " Domestic Effects of the Higher Education 

oi Women"' was read by Mrs. May Wright Sewall. 
Mrs. Caroline Baldwin Babcock presided during the final 
hour, which was devoted to pioneer topics. Mrs. Harriet 
Taylor Upton spoke on "Our Ancestors, the Heroes and 
Heroines of the Western Reserve:'* Mrs. R. H. Wright 
on "Are we worthy of our Ancestors?" and Mrs. Kate 
Brownlee Sherwood on "Looking Forward." 

After a few remarks by the venerable Truman P. 
Handy, and the offering of the Lord's Prayer by the en- 
tire audience, the afternoon exercises came to an end. 
From 5.30 to 6.30 p. m... there was a reception in. the 
Grays' Armory. Mrs. M. A. Hanna, chairman of the re- 
ception committee, was assisted in receiving by Governor 
and Mrs. Bushnell, Major and Mrs. McKinley, and other 
prominent ladies and gentlemen. The reception was fol- 
lowed by a banquet, spread in the great drill room, 
where thirty-two tables, exquisitely appointed and rich- 
ly laden, were set for the accommodation of six hundred 
guests. 

At 7.00 p. m.. when the guests were seated, Mrs. W. 
A. Ingham brought down the gavel, and introduced Mrs. 
W. G. Rose, chairman of the banquet committee, who 
welcomed the company in an eloquent address. Mrs. 
Sarah E. Bierce, chairman of the Woman's Day Com- 
mittee, and toast-mistress of the evening, in a charming- 
ly-worded address, assumed her duties. Rev. H. M. 
Ladd said grace, and, to the music of the Schubert 
Mandolin Club, the menu was discussed. When this 
portion of the programme had been completed. Mayor 
McKisson welcomed the guests, in behalf of the city, 
and congratulated the women of the Western Reserve 
upon the great work they had accomplished. Governor 
Bushnell spoke in response to the toast, ''The State;" 
Mrs. T. K. Dissette spoke on "Auld Lang Syne;" Mrs. 
[May Wright Sewall, on ''The Present Situation ; " Mrs. 



jjo THE HIS TOR Y OF CLE VELA ND. 



N. Coe Stewart, on " The Wheel of the Past: the Wheel 
of the Present;" Mrs. Annette Phelps Lincoln, on " Ohio 
Federation of Woman's Clubs;" Rabbi Moses J. Gries, 
on " Home;" Mrs. Helen Campbell, on " Prisoners of 
Poverty: Prisoners of Hope;" Mrs. J. C. Croly (Jennie 
June), on " The Future Citizens;" and Mr. W. F. Carr, 
on ' ' The Reserve Force of the Western Reserve — the 
Women." A few happy remarks on " Those Royal Good 
Fellows, the Men," were then made by Mrs. A. H. 
Tuttle, after which Mrs. Elroy M. Avery arose and said: 
4t Women began the day by hanging on the outstretched 
arm of Moses Cleaveland a wreath of flowers, in token of 
honor and respect. He was a man. We end the day by 
presenting to the representative of the Centennial Com- 
mission a basket of flowers, as a token of honor and re- 
spect to the men of Cleveland." With this, Mrs. Avery 
handed to Director- General Day a basket of magnificent 
roses. This ended the exercises of the evening. 

Wednesday, July 29th, was set aside as Early Settlers' 
Day, and was mainly devoted to the exercises conducted 
by the Early Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga County. 
At 9.30 a. m., the members of this great body, that has 
done so much for the preservation of historical informa- 
tion concerning this portion of the West, gathered in 
Army and Navy Hall, for their annual meeting. The 
exercises opened with prayer, by Rev. Lathrop Cooley, 
•chaplain of the Association, followed by a song by the 
Arion Quartet. Hon. A. J. Williams, chairman of the 
executive committee, submitted his annual report. He 
read also the report that had been prepared by Solon Bur- 
gess, the treasurer. On motion of General James Bar- 
nett, the officers who had served during the past year 
were re-elected, as follows: President, Richard C. Par- 
sons; Vice-Presidents, Mrs. Josiah A. Harris, George F. 
Marshall; Secretary, Henry C. Hawkins; Treasurer, Solon 
Burgess; Chaplain, Rev. Lathrop Cooley; Marsha/, Hiram 
M. Addison. The annual address of President Parsons 
was then listened to. He briefly sketched the history of 



jTT* 




THE HIS /( )RY 0F( 7 E I 'EL I ND. 5S' 

Ohio, and the Western Reserve, and paid an eloquent 
tribute to the character of the men by whom they were 
peopled. When lie had concluded. Hon. John C. Covert 

was introduced, as the author of that resolution, back in 
1893, that was the first public official suggestion^ of this 
Centennial celebration, of [896. 

Mr. Covert s!l related many interesting events connected 
with the foundation and settlement of Cleveland, and, in 
conclusion, paid a warm tribute to those who came into 
the wilderness, to build a commonwealth, and make their 
homes. " These early settlers were, as a rule," said he, 
" men of sturdy patriotism, and broad intelligence. Their 
principles, like some of their houses, survive them. 
When all material objects associated with them shall have 
passed away, their principles will still live, and their 
names and examples be cherished during centuries yet 
to come." 

Remarks were also made by Truman P. Handy, General 
J. J. Elwell, and S. D. Dodge. The members of the as- 
sociation were invited then to a dinner, in an upper hall. 
At 2 :oo p. m., they reassembled, and marched as a body 
to the log-cabin. A photograph was taken of the group, 
in front of that famous structure. The afternoon was 
spent in social converse, and in listening to the old-time 

89 In the course of his remarks, Mr. Covert suggested a modification of 
the generally accepted statement, that pioneer Nathaniel Doanwas a black- 
smith. He spoke, he said, on the authority of members of the Doan 
family. "He built a blacksmith shop," said Mr. Covert, "a hotel, a. 
saleratus factory, and a store, because they were needed. Nathaniel 
Doan was postmaster, and justice of the peace, for many years, and re- 
ligious services were conducted by him, in his house." It will be remem- 
bered, that the Connecticut Land Company voted a grant of one city lot 
to Nathaniel Doan, the consideration being that he should "reside- 
thereon, as blacksmith." Colonel Charles Whittlesey, in his " Early His- 
tory of Cleveland," p. 331, says: "Mr. Doan was the blacksmith of the 
Land Company, whose business it was, during the progress of the survey, 
to keep their pack-horses well shod. In 1798, he erected a rude shop, 
on the south side of Superior street." The probability is, that he did. 
not personally follow that trade in Cleveland, although the builder of 
the shop which his arrangement with the Land Company caused to be- 
erected. 



S52 THE HIS TORY OF CLE VELA ND. 

music which ''Father" H. M. Addison evoked from his 
ancient violin. 

On the succeeding day, Thursday, July 30th, came the 
celebration of Western Reserve Day, dedicated to the 
people of that historic tract, of which Cleveland is the 
metropolis. It was ushered in, at 5.30 a. m., by a 
national salute. It had been intended to hold public ex- 
ercises during the forenoon, in Central Armory, but Sena- 
tors John Sherman and Calvin S. Brice, who had been 
advertised as the chief orators, discovered, at the last 
moment, that they were unable to come, and accordingly 
it was abandoned. A military and pioneer parade had 
been arranged for at 2.30 p. m., and that was carried out, 
in a successful manner. The progress of a century was 
shown by floats, and otherwise. Old-time agricultural 
implements, the spinning-wheel and hand-loom, the 
ii dug-out," the yokes of oxen, the stage-coach of by-gone 
days, the mail-carrier, and other reminders of pioneer 
times, were seen in the parade, as it passed the reviewing 
stand, in front of the City Hall. In the military part of 
the parade, came a regiment of United States regulars, a 
troop of regular cavalry, a battery of United States artil- 
lery, regiments of the Ohio National Guard, Cleveland 
companies, and the veteran firemen. The procession was 
reviewed by Governor Bushnell, as commander-in-chief 
of the troops. 

The week beginning with Monday, August 10th, was 
given over to the Centennial Yacht Regatta, under the 
auspices of the Centennial Commission, and of the Cleve- 
land Yacht Club. Several days of excited racing, and 
much in the line of social pleasure, tell in a few words 
the story of the week. August 18th, 19th, and 20th, were 
devoted to the Centennial Floral Exhibition, given under 
the auspices of the Centennial Commission, the Cleveland 
Florists' Club, and the Society of American Florists. On 
the 1 8th, the twelfth annual convention of the National 
Association was held in Army and Navy Hall. Mayor 
McKisson made a speech of welcome to the visitors. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, 553 

The floral exhibits were displayed in Central Armory. 
The three days devoted to these beautiful displays, and 
to the reception and entertainment of the exhibitors. 
were not among the least attractive features of the Cen- 
tennial summer. 

A week and more, extending from August 22nd to 
August 29th, was set aside for the Grand Encampment 
and Supreme Lodge of the Knights of Pythias. A camp 
had been prepared, on " Payne Meadows," to which the 
name Camp Perry- Payne had been given. To this came 
thousands of knights, from all parts of the country, and 
were welcomed by representatives of the Centennial Com- 
mission, and of the members of the order, in Cleveland. 
A band concert on the opening evening ; divine services on 
the Sabbath ; the dedication of the camp ; boat riding on the 
lake ; visits to the public parks, and other places of interest ; 
parades ; an excursion to Put-in-Bay ; and prize drills, were 
only a few of the events arranged, for the pleasure of the 
visitors. The parade of the uniform rank, and subordinate 
lodges, on the 25th, was generally described as the great- 
est, and most imposing, in the history of the order. 

The first of the Historical Conferences, which were 
among the closing events of the celebration, was held, 
on vSeptember 7th and 8th, in Association Hall. These 
two days were devoted to the section of education, and 
the meetings were presided over by President Charles F. 
Thwing, of Western Reserve University. Director-Gen- 
eral Day opened the exercises, at 3.00 p. m., by a short 
speech, at the conclusion of which he introduced Dr. 
Thwing. Prayer was offered by Rev. S. P. Sprecher. 
An entertaining paper on " Some Early Schools and 
Teachers of Cleveland," was read by Miss L. T. Guilford. 
L. H. Jones, superintendent of the Cleveland schools, 
followed with an able and thoughtful paper on " Present 
Ideals, and Future Prospects of Public Education in Cleve- 
land." Prof. B. A. Hinsdale, of the University of Michi- 
gan, formerly president of Hiram College, and superintend- 
ent of Cleveland schools, spoke, in the evening session, 



SJ4 THE HISTOR V OF CLE VELA XD. 



on ' ' The Development of Primary and Secondary Educa- 
tion." The second day, September 8th, was occupied by 
Mgr. T. P. Thorpe, who spoke on education, with especial 
reference to the parochial and public schools of Cleveland; 
Dr. Levi Gilbert, who talked upon religion, morals, and 
education; and President Thwing, who ably discussed the 
development of higher education. In the evening, an ad- 
dress on legal education was delivered by Professor Jere- 
miah Smith, of the Harvard Law School. 

The succeeding day, September 9th, was devoted to the 
section of religion, and the section of philanthropy. The 
exercises were held in Association Hall, and were com- 
menced at 9.30 a. m., with J. G. W. Cowles presiding. 
The following papers were read: " The Baptist Church," 
prepared by Rev. H. C. Applegarth; " The Catholic 
Church," Chancellor George F. Houck: " The Con- 
gregational Church," Rev. J. G. Fraser; " The German 
Protestant Church," Rev. H. J. Reutenik; " The Jewish 
Church," Rabbi M. Machol; " The Methodist Episcopal 
Church," Mrs. W. A. Ingham; "The Presbyterian 
Church," Rev. A. C. Ludlow. In the afternoon, a paper 
on " The History of the Charities of Cleveland," was read 
by L. F. Mellen; Dr. C. F. Dutton spoke on " The Mutual 
Relations of Riches and Poverty," and Rabbi Moses J. 
Gries, on " Organized Philanthropy." 

With the close of Thursday, September 10th, the cele- 
brations of Cleveland's most memorable summer came to 
an end. It was Perry's Victory Day that was observed. 
with an enthusiasm as great, and a patriotism as fervent, 
as was shown by the people of Cleveland on the opening 
of this series of commemorative events. 

For the last time the national salute at daybreak noti- 
fied the people to be up for their final holiday. Great 
crowds of visitors came in from the surrounding country, 
and the streets were everywhere filled, long before the 
beginning of the formal exercises. The weather was 
perfect, as though nature was willing to make amends for 
the heat and rains of the previous days. 



THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND. 



555 



There was a mass meeting in the Central Armor}-, at 
9.30 a. m. Governor Bushnell was president of the day, 
and, on taking the chair, spoke briefly of the day and its 

meaning. He then introduced the Hon. Charles Warren 
Lippitt, governor of Rhode Island — the State in which 
Oliver Hazard Perry was born, — who had come to Cleve- 
land as the city's guest. 

Governor Lippitt then delivered the chief address of the 
day, in which the story of Perry's memorable battle, and 
its results, was told in full. At its conclusion, Director- 
General Day offered a resolution, asking the Congress of 
the United States, and the general assembly of Ohio, " to 
make an appropriation suf- 
ficient to erect, on Put-in- 
Bay Island, an appropriate 
memorial over the long- 
neglected graves of the pa- 
triotic American soldiers 
and sailors of the Battle of 
Lake Erie." The resolu- 
tion was adopted, unani- 
mously. 



An ode on Perry's vic- 
tory was read by Frederick 
Boyd Stevenson, of Chicago. Several descendants of Com- 
modore Perry were introduced. The benediction was pro- 
nounced by Rev. Charles E. Manchester, and the gather- 
ing dispersed. 

At 2.30 p. m., came the final great parade, industrial 
and military in its character. There were many soldiers 
in the line ; the governors of Ohio and Rhode Island, with 
their staffs ; the members of the Centennial Commission ; 
the officers of the L T nited States steamer " Michigan," and 
of the revenue cutter li Fessenden;" many fraternal and 
social organizations ; and a long line of floats, illustrative 
of Cleveland's varied industries, and the products of her 
factories and shops. It was a crowning object-lesson, 
showing what the city of Moses Cleaveland could do, at 




THE CENTENNIAL ARCH. 



5 S6 THE HIS TORY OF CL E VELA ND. 



this end of the nineteenth century. It eovered miles of 
the eity's streets, which were lined by thousands of spec- 
tators. The shades of evening had fallen, before the 
last float went by the reviewing stand, and the electric 
lights were called in to shed their brightness upon the 
final scene. 

The people had no time to go home, but filled all the 
lake front at an early hour, where the Battle of Lake 
Erie was again fought over, in mimic warfare. 

The Centennial celebration was brought to a close, at 
the conclusion of a banquet, given in the Hollenden Hotel, 
by the Centennial Commission, in honor of the guests of 
the day. James H. Hoyt presided, and at the proper 
point introduced Governor Bushnell, who made an ex- 
tended and patriotic address. He was followed by Gov- 
ernor Lippitt, Hon. E. C. Bois, attorney-general of Rhode 
Island, James H. Hoyt, Rabbi Moses J. Gries, and, finally. 
Mayor Robert E. McKisson. He reviewed, the century 
past, thanked all who had aided in making the Centennial 
a success, and spoke hopefully of the future. Then, with 
a mallet made from wood taken from the historic log- 
cabin, he gave a sharp rap upon the table, and officially 
declared the Centennial celebration of 1896 at an end. 



INDEX. 



A 1. 1 i \, ( rrove N., 307. 

Abbey, Henry G., 443, 446. 

Abbey, Seth A., 235, 267. 

Abbey Street Viaduct, 476. 

Abbott, David, 11S. 

Aborn, Frank, 462. 

Academy, 194, 2S1. 

Academy of Music, 426, 427. 

Ackley, H. A., 312, 357. 

Ackley, Dr. H. C, 349-51. 

Ackley, John A., 70, 176, 177. 

Adams, Asael, 11 5-1 16, 141. 

Adams, Samuel E., 310, 440, 442. 

Adams, Seth, 135. 

Addison, H. M., 550, 552; originates 

Early Settlers' Association, 438 ; 

Centennial commission, 519, 521, 

525- 
Adelbert College, 545, 546. 
Adgate, John Hart, 93. 
Advertiser, the, 44, 253. 
Advertisements, 294, 295. 
Agnew, Samuel, 26. 
Aiken, S. C, 314, 326. 
Akers, William J., 520, 521, 525. 
Akron and Beaver Canal, 304. 
Alcott, F. L.. 522. 
Aldermen, Board of, 354. 
Allemannia Fire Insurance Co., 

35=. 

Allen, Gaston G. , 311. 

Allen, John W., 177, 216-217, 226, 
232, 242, 262 ; director Commercial 
Bank of Lake Erie, 1S6: in the 1 
cholera season, 242-43 ; tells of 
plague miS32, 243-45; incorpora- 
tor C. and N. Ry. Co., 256; writes 
for the Advertiser, 258; elected | 
mayor, 276; incorporator Ohio R. 



R. Co., 318; president C, C. and 
C. R. R., 322; president Society 
for Savings, 342 ; Early Settlers' 
Association, 439 ; postmaster, 507 ; 
congressional representative, 509. 

Allen, Nehemiah, 229, 311, 31S. 

Allen, W. F., Jr., 339. 

American Florists, Society of, 552. 

Amusements in early times, 173-74. 

Anderson, A. T., 507, 525. 

Andrews, A., 265. 

Andrews, B., 272, 507. 

Andrews, Sherlock J., 186, 216, 226,. 
251, 268, 270; sketch of, 217-218; 
president of the council, 269 ; his 
resignation, 271 ; first president 
Library Board, 403 ; first presi- 
dent Cleveland Bar Association, 
406; Early Settlers' Association,. 
440; representative, 509. 

Andrews, William, 67. 

Andrews, William \V., S3. 

Angier House, 359, 368. 

Anshe Chesed Congregation, 360. 

Anti-Slavery Society, 294. 

Applegarth, H. C, 554. 

Appraisers of houses, 1S03, 11S. 

Apprentices, 180. 

Arey, Oliver, 463. 

Arion Quartet, 532, 550. 

Arkites, 445-447- 

Armstrong, Elizabeth, 2S2. 

Armstrong, George E., 406. 

Armstrong, William W., 472, 482, 
507. 5i3- 

Army and Navy Hall, 550, 552. 

Arnold, George, 471. 

Art Gallery, plans and bequests for, 
509-510. 



sss 



IXDEX. 



Artemus Ward Club, 546. 


Baldwin, Philemon, 154, 16S. 


Arter, Mrs. F. A.. 548. 


Baldwin, Runa, 154. 


Ashtabula bridge disaster, 432. 


Baldwin, Samuel S. , 154, 16S. 


Ashtabula County, 14S. 


Baldwin, Smith S., 149, 150. 


Assessor, city, 1S15, 176. 


Ballard, John, 231. 


Association Hall, 553, 554. 


Bangs, F. C, 418, 482. 


Associations, 315, 405-406, 439-40. 


Bank of Cleveland, 292. 


Asylums, 356-5S. 


Bank of Commerce, 344, 347. 


Atkins, D. F., 13S. 


Banks, of Ohio, 188, 189; from 1845- 


Atlantic and Great Western Rail- 


1S95, 341-51 ; failures, 302, 34S-51 ; 


road Company, 329. 


capital and surplus, 503. 


Atwater, Amzi, 26, 55-56; sketch of , 


Bankruptcy Court, 404. 


66; 67, 68. 


Baptist Church, 238. 


Atwater, Caleb, 92. 


Barber, Amos, 26. 


Auditor, 420. 


Barber, Gershom M., 407, 422, 423. 


Austin, Eliphalet, 92, 93. 


Barber, Joseph, 186. 


Austin, Eliphalet, Jr., 318. 


Barber, Josiah, 229, 241, 253, 257, 


Austin, William, 168. 


365- 


Avery, Elroy M., 463. 


Barker, Aaron, 256, 507. 


Avery, Mrs. Elroy M., 359, 360, 526, 


Barnes, Samuel, 27. 


54S, 55o. 


Barnett, James, 247, 354, 360, 495, 


Axline, H. A., 547. 


55o. 475; Library Association 


Axworthy, Thomas, 475; defalca- 


Board, 316; Board of Police Com- 


tion of, 478-79. 


missioners, 398; president Board 


Ayres, Elisha, 26. 


of Elections, 472 ; Centennial 




committee, 519. 


Babcock, B. D., 442, 477, 493. 


Barnett, Melancthon, 249, 272, 304, 


Babcock, Mrs. Caroline Baldwin, 549. 


471. 


Babcock, Charles H., 471. 


Barnum, P. T., 427. 


Babcock, Mrs. P. H., 360. 


Barr, John, 283, 294, 354, 355, 471. 


Babcock, William R., 229. 


Barr, Thomas, 103. 


Backus, Franklin T., 277, 349, 364; 


Barr Association, 368, 406. 


Canal Bank failure, 350, 351; in 


Barret, David, 16S. 


Oberlin-Wellington rescue cases, 


Barris, W. H., 345. 


3S3. 


Bartlett, J. B., 354, 365. 


Backus, Mrs. Franklin T., 449. 


Bartley, Mordecai, 229. 


Badger, Joseph, 97, 100-105. 


Bates, Noble, 154. 


Bailey, Amasa, 177. 


Bath street, 42, 45. 


Baldwin, Amos, 154. 


Battell, Philip, 279. 


Baldwin, Caleb, 154. 


Battle of the Peninsula, 162. 


Baldwin, Charles C, 399, 401, 469, 


Battles of our Nation, 534. 


4S3. 


Bauder, Levi F., 471, 495. 


Baldwin, David C. 4S3. 


Beacher, Sylvester, 160. 


Baldwin, Dudley, 187, 267, 295, 328, 


Beall, Gen. R., 162. 


339- 44i. 


Beard, David, 27. 


Baldwin, E. I., 307. 


Beardsley, David H., 177, 214. 216, 


Baldwin, Edward, 268, 271, 299. 


218, 256. 


Baldwin, Norman C, 235, 266, 305, 


Beardsley, I. L., 402. 


365. 


Bears, 104-105. 



INDEX 



559 



Beatty, Zaccheus A.. [35. 

Beaumont, W. 11.. 310. 

Bedell, G. T., 453. 

Bedford, 303. 

Beer, Joshua, 103. 

Belden, Caroline, 28 }. 

Belden, Clifford, 310. 

Belden, George W., 3S3. 

Belden, Silas, 242, 267, 281. 

Benedict, George A., 275, 338, 365, 
507. 511. 

Benedict, I. F., 471. 

Benedict and Reudy, store burg- 
larized, 473. 

Benham, George H., 471. 

Benham, Shadrach, 26. 

Bennett, James, 247, 24S. 

Bennett, John A., 393. 

Bennett, Philander, 265. 

Benton, E. R., 310. 

Benton, Horace, 2S3. 

Benton, L. A., 387. 

Benton, Stephen, 26. 

Berea Guards, 433. 

Bethel Church, 278. 

Bethel Union and Associated Chari- 
ties, 403. 

Beverlin, John, 365. 

Bicknell, Minor, 67, 68. 

Bicycle parade, 546, 547. 

Bierce, Mrs. Sarah E., 526, 549. 

Big Son, Seneca Indian, 74, 75. 

Bigelow, A. D., 310. 

Bigelow Lodge, 310. 

Bill, Earl, 410. 

Billmger, Mary, 138-39. 

Bills, James S., 160. 

Bingham, Charles W., 479, 510. 

Bingham, Elijah, 262. 

Bingham, Flavel W., 276, 356. 

Bingham, William, 277, 359, 364, 
365,405,410; Library Association 
Board, 316; first president Union 
Club, 406; Western Reserve His- 
torical Society, 483. 

Bishop, John, 160. 

Bishop, R. M., 438. 

Bissell, A. H., 339. 

Bissell, Benjamin, 340. 



Bissell, John P., 93. 

Black 1 lawk, 253, 254. 

Black 1 lawk War, 243, 245. 

Black River, 9, 125, 131. 

Blair, A. ( )., 340. 

Blair, Elizabeth, 526. 

Blair, F. J., 283. 

Blair, Henry, 272. 

Blair, John, 186, 197, 212, 215, 267, 

304- 

Blandin, Mrs. E. J., 548. 

Blee, Robert, 417. 

Blin, Richard, 154. 

Bliss, George, 383. 

Bliss, Stoughton, 44O. 

Blossom, H. C, 405. 

Blossom, Henry S., 522. 

Blount, Colonel, 413. 

Board of Control, 1891, 482. 

Board of Industry and Improve- 
ment, 475. 

Board of Park Commissioners or- 
ganized, 415. 

Board of Trade, 338-39, 394-96, 486- 
88, 503. 

Boardman, Elijah, 92. 

Boardman, W. J., 405-406. 

Bohm, E. H., 471, 495. 

Bois, E. C, 556. 

Bolles, Jas. A., 433. 

Bolls, John, 92. 

Bolton, Thomas, 267, 310. 

Bomford tract, 360. 

Bond, Mrs. D. E., 244. 

Bone, J. H. A., 399. 

Bower, B. F., 517. 

Boxwell, Alexander, 521. 

Brace, Jonathan, 20. 

Bradburn, Charles, 283, 286, 306, 377. 

Bradford, Mrs. Mary S., 526. 

Bradley, Alva, 466. 

Bradley, Moses, 160. 

Bradstreet, Col. John, 10. 

Brainard, Asa, 240. 

Brainard, A. H., 339. 

Brainard, Enos, 240. 

Brainard, J., 339. 

Brainard, Ozias, 240. 

Brainard, Silas, 427. 



j6o 



I\J)EX. 



Brainard. Stephen, 240. 
Brainard, Warren, 240. 
Brainard's Opera House, see Globe 

Theater. 
Brainerd, Dr. H. C, 403. 
Brainerd's Hall, 426, 427. 
Brandon, C, 160. 
Brant, Joseph, 31-32, 53. 
Bratenahl's Block, 236. 
Brayton, Henry F., 352, 372, 410. 
Breck, J. H., 360. 
Brecksville, 303. 
Brennan, Kate S., 462. 
Brett, William H. , 402. 
Brewer, A. T., 4S3. 
Briant, John, 27. 
Brice, Calvin S., 552. 
Bridges, 296-300, 436-38, 476. 
Briggs, James A., 286, 323. 
Brinsmade, A. T., 433. 
British fleet, appearance of, 164. 
Britton Iron & Steel Co., 369. 
Broadway widened, 265. 
Brockway, A. W., 345. 
Brockway, H. C, 410. 
Brockway, Wason, Everett & Co., 

345- 
Bronson, Rev. S. A., 136. 
Brooklyn Cemetery Association, 

360. 
Brooklyn Blues, 433. 
Brooklyn township, 238, 241. 
Brooklyn, Village of, 134, 296, 303. 

annexation, 508. 
Brooks, Henry M., 521. 
Brooks, S. C, 415. 
Brown, Ethan A., 152, 16S, 222. 
Brown, Fayette, 347, 34S. 
Brown, Rev. F. T., 35S. 
Brown, Josiah W., 124. 
Brown, John W. , 403. 
Brown, Samuel, 270. 
Brown, Thomas, 339. 
Brownell, Mayor, 35S. 
Brownell, Thomas, 386. 
Brush, Charles F., 430-31, 522, 525. 
Brush Electric Company, 431. 
Bryan, David, 119. 
Bryant, David, 63, 74, 95, 96. 



Bryant, (iilman, 63, 69, 96, 1 io. 

Buckeye Guards, 433. 

Buckeye Insurance Company. 352. 

Buckingham, Ebenezer, 222. 

Buel, Daniel, 167, t68. 

Buell, J. C, 2S3, 399. 

Buffalo Land Company, 241, 265-66; 

builds hotel, 295. 
Buffalo road, 236. 
Buhrer, Stephen, 311, 402, 436. 
Building statistics, 1890, 505. 
Bulkley, Charles H., 418, 42S, 475. 
Bulkley, W. F., 515. 
Bump, Mr. — , schoolmaster, 236- 
Bunnel, David, r68. 
Burbank, Stephen, 27. 
Burgess, Almon, 471. 
Burgess, H. H., 482. 
Burgess, Solon, 519, 550. 
Burk, Allen, 160. 
Burk,Erectus, 154. 
Burk, Joseph, 161. 
Burk, Sylvanus, 126. 
Burke, Clarence, 525. 
Burke, Joseph, 141. 
Burnett, C. C, 522, 526. 
Burnham, Thomas, 252-53, 365. 
Burras, David, 154. 
Burrell, Jesse, 261. 
Burrows, Francis A., 365. 
Burt, George H., 415. 
Burton, Mrs. E. D., 360. 
Burton, Theodore E., 509. 
Bushnell, Asa S., 525, 531, 541. 545; 

address f on Founder's day. 538, 

549^ 552. 555- 
Bushnell, Mrs. A. S., 549. 
Bushnell, Simeon, 382-S3. 
Butler, Benjamin F., 360. 
Butler, Henry E., 294. 
Butler, Julia, 2S2. 
Butts, Bolivar, 441, 519, 521. 525. 

526, 532. 
Byington, Edwin, 31S. 

Cady, George W., Centennial Com- 
missioner, 525. 

Cady, S. C, organizes Euclid Ave- 
nue Congregational Church. 314. 



LXDEX 



561 



Calahan, Thomas, elected council- 

man. j-i 

Caldwell, Hugh J., judge of Circuit 
Court, 470. 

Caldwell, John, 20. 

Calhoun, Patrick, donates park 
land. 420. 

Camp. John C incorporator Ohio 
R. R. Co., 318. 

Camp Moses Clcaveland, dedica- 
tion. 530-31. 

Camp Perry-Payne, 553. 

Campaign songs, 307-308. 

Campbell, Alexander, 136, trader, 

ITQ. 

Campbell, Mrs. Helen, 54S. 

Campbell, I., 313. 

Campbell, J. D.. 45;. 

Campbell. Mary, captivity of, 9. 

Canada, exports to, Apr.-Oct., 1S09, 
130. 140. 

Canal Bank, failure, 348-51. 

Canals. 134; 222-26; Beaver to Ak- 
ron, 304. 

Canfield, Horace, 26S, 271. 

Canfield, Judson, 92. 

Canfield, Sherman B., 314. 

Canfield and Spencer, buy the "Ad- 
vertiser," 25S; city printers. 271; 
publish "Advertiser," 512. 

Carad. Jacob, 168. 

Card, George W-, 311, 31S. 

Card, Thomas, associate judge, 215. 

Card, Varnum, 471. 

Carey, John E., 250. 

Carleton. C. C, 352. 

Carlton, John, 160. 

Carlton, Rodolphus, 160. 

Can*, Robert, 121, 154. 

Carr, William F., 465, 550. 

Carter, Alonzo, 170, tSi, 240, 241. 

Carter, Lorenzo, S9, 124. 136, 153, 
163, 167, 16S, 169, 170, 172; ar- 
rives in Cleveland, 56; assists 
fever patients, 61 ; in possession 
of Cuyahoga settlement, 63 ; 
sketch of, 69-75 ; land contract 
with Hart, 71; buys city lot, 92; 
constable, 94; erects houses, 11 1; 



COptain of militia. 120; protest 

against, 121; supervisor, 122; son 
drowned, 126; aids escaped slave, 
Ben, 1 vj 33; builds "Zephyr," 
139; opening of Cleveland and 
Huron road, 140; purchases West 

Side land, 241. 

Carter, Lorenzo, Jr., 153. 

Case, Leonard, Sr., 176, 18 7-8 8; 
president of Commercial Bank, 
1S6; builds frame warehouse, 197; 
at court, 215; city allotment, 265; 
councilman, 272; and bank bur- 
glars, 34S. 

Case, Leonard, Jr., 445; charities, 
404 ; founds Case School, 443. 

Case, William, 316, 364, 443, 445. 
446; mayor, 276, 326; sketch of, 
366. 

Case Hall, 42S. 

Case Library, bequest, 316. 

Case School of Applied Sciences, 
founded, 443-45- 

Cass, Jonathan, 135. 

Cass, Lewis, 161. 

Cassells, J. Lang, 312. 371. 

Castle, Henry, 253. 

Castle, Mark S., 253. 

Castle, William B., 364; mayor of 
Ohio City, 365 ; trustee City Hos- 
pital, 405. 

Cataract Lodge, 311. 

Cathan, Oirson, 177. 

Cathcart, Wallace H., 4S5. 

Catholic Church, first, 303. 

Cattel, A. G.. 327. 

Caul, Peter, 310. 

Cecil, William, 93. 

Cemeteries, 155, 215, 228, 360-61, 
burying ground, 1797, 56. 

Census statistics, 49S, Cuyahoga Co., 

303- 
Centennial, committees. 51Q-22, 526; 
Commission, 521, 525; Finance 
Committee, 522; program, 523-25; 
chairman of committees, 526; 
Woman's Department, 526; for- 
mal opening, 527-30; German 
Lutherans' mass meeting, 529-30; 



$62 



INDEX. 



dedication Camp Moses Cleave- 
land, 530-31; log-cabin dedicated, 
531-34; Early Settlers' reception, 
534; Battles of our Nation : musi- 
cal spectacle, 534; Founder's day, 
534-45 ; letter from President 
Cleveland, 535; Mr. Piatt's Ode, 
537; Rockefeller's gift, 537-3S; 
arch lighted, 543-44; New Eng- 
land day, 545-46; opera, 546; bi- 
cycle parade, 546-47; Woman's 
day, 547-50; Miss Foster's Ode, 
548; Early Settlers' day 550-52; 
first official suggestion of Centen- 
nial, 551; Yacht Regatta, 552; 
floral exhibition, 552; Knights of 
Pythias, 553; Historical Confer- 
ences, 553-54; Perry's victory 
day, 554-56; close of celebration, 
556. 

Center House, 294. 

Central Armory, 534, 547, 553, 555. 

Central bridge, dedicated, 477-7S. 

Central Market, opened, 369. 

Central Methodist Episcopal 
Church, 48 1. 

Central Viaduct, built, 43 5-3 S; car 
disaster, 508-509. 

•Chagrin, circulating library, 311. 

Chagrin Falls Guards, join 15th 
regiment, 433. 

Chagrin River, origin of name, 37. 

Chamber of Commerce, 4SS-93. 

Chamberlain, Philo, 339, 349, 39S. 

■Chamberlain, Selah, 359, 372, 454, 

479- 
Champion, Henry, 20, 123. 
Champion, Reuben, 186. 
Chapin, Herman M., 316, 39S, 446. 
Chapman, Henry, 471. 
■Chapman, Nathan, 42, 154. 
Charities, 403-405. 
Charity Hospital, 357. 
Charter, proposed repeal of city, 276. 
Chase, Charles W., 515, 521, 525. 
Chase, Mrs. Charles W., 526. 
Chase, T. R., 399. 
Cheesman, J. E., 526, 547. 
Child, A. Kennedy, 545. 



Children's Aid Society and Home, 
35S. 

Childs, George W., 2S3. 

Childs, Herrick, 272. 

Childs, Oscar A., 283, 405, 415. 

Child and Bishop, 353. 

Chillicothe, 117. 

Chippewas, 74, 75, 124. 

Chisholm, Henry, 370, 371, 405, 429. 

Chittenden, S. W., 345, 351. 

Cholera season of 1832, 241-46. 

Church, Jonathan, 93, 124. 

Churches, 102, 313-15, 469. 

Churchill, Mrs. S. P., 52b. 

Circuit Court, 469. 

Cist, Charles, 357. 

Citizens' Savings and Loan As- 
sociation, 345. 

City Bank of Cleveland, 341, 347. 

City Guards, 290, 291. 

City Hospital, 405. 

City Insurance Company, 352. 

City Lodge, 310. 

Civil Engineer's Club, 455. 

Civil War, the, 389, 390, 391. 

Claflen, H. M., 477. 

Clark, A. A., 462. 

Clark, David, 69, 89, 90, 92, 119; 
death, 127. 

Clark, E. M., 372. 

Clark, Edmund, 265, 310, 351. 

Clark, Mrs. Edmund, 237. 

Clark, Edward, 186, 267. 

Clark, Edwin, 216. 

Clark, Henry W., 306. 

Clark, James F., 479. 

Clark, James S., 1S6, 215, 229, 256, 
265, 295, 297. 

Clark, Jarvis, 154. 

Clark, Martin, 154. 

Clark, Marvin, 306. 

Clark, Mason, 154, 160. 

Clark, Rufus, 154. 

Clearing House Association, 347, 
34S. 

Cleaveland, Camden, 93. 

Cleaveland, Moses, 2, 33, 54, 69, 71 ; 
prophecy concerning Cleveland, 
1 ; superintendent Connecticut 



/.\ DEX 



S6j 



Land Company purchase, _' i : 
graphical sketch, 22-24; letter 
1 Hiver Phelps, 25, 26; confer- 
ence with Indians, 31, J2, 

ches the Cuyahoga, 37-38; re- 
home company, 39; de- 
cides upon site. 39; name given 
city, 42; agreement with sur- 
veyors, 41). 50; contract ratified, 
statue erected, 440-42. 
rk, city, [838, 273. 
Clerk, county, imo, 141). 

. town, 1802, in ; 1S03, 11S; 
1S09, 143 ; 1891, 4S2. 
Cleveland, Grover, 535, 543, 544. 
Cleveland, James D., 2S3, 471, 479, 
509, 510; tells of Cleveland in 
1835, 261, 262; Western Reserve 
Historical Society. 399. 
Cleveland, founding, i, 2, 39; spell- 
ing of name, 42-44 ; plan for sale 
of lots, 47-4S, 52; division of lots, 
52 ; second expedition, 54, 55 ; first 
funeral, 55; oldest house, 59-60; 
becomes part of Jefferson Co., 60; 
travel, 64; in 1797, 69; early 
homes, 78, 79; early food, S0-S3 ; 
sale of city lots, 91-92 ; list of set- 
tlers to 1S00, 96; first town meet- 
ing, m; supervisors' districts, 
I2i, 122; in 1S06, 130; in 1807, 
136; county seat, 143, 149; inhabit- 
ants, 1S11-12, 153, 154; appeal 
for aid, 15S; in 1813, 163; bound- 
aries, 174, 231, 266; streets laid 
out, 177; legislation, 17S; in 1796, 
182; description, 237; in 1833, 254, 
2y z , 262; in 1S36, 264, 265, 266; 
locai government, 354, 480-S2 ; 
union with Ohio City, 361-365; 
from 1880-90, 457-62; area in 
1S91, 505; religious growth, 505. 
Cleveland and Canton Railroad, 337. 
Cleveland and Erie Railroad, 321. 
Cleveland and Huron Railroad, 140. 
Cleveland and Mahoning Valley 

Railroad, 328. 
Cleveland and Xewburgh Railroad, 
256. 257. 



Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad, 
134. 

Cleveland and Warren Railroad, 269. 
Cleveland Builders' Exchange, 493. 

Cleveland. Columbus and Cincin- 
nati Railroad, 321, 324. 

Cleveland Forum, 315. 

Cleveland Insurance Company, 351. 

Cleveland Iron Company, 371, 372. 

Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling 
Railroad, 335. 

Cleveland House, 426. 

Cleveland National Bank, 345. 

Cleveland, Painesville and Ashta- 
bula Railroad, 332. 

Cleveland Pier Company, 181. 

Cleveland, township, 43, 47, 48, 303. 

Cleveland, Warren and Pittsburg. 
Railroad, 273, 321, 326, 328. 

Clinton, De Witt, 223-225/317. 

Clinton, Kennedy, 283. 

Clinton Park, 265, 295, 415. 

Clothing, S3, 84. 

Coal, 230, 231, 303, 373. 

Cobb, Margaret, 98. 

Cochran, Abner, 121, 154. 

Coe, Charles W., 339. 
; Coe, S. S., 339, 440. 

Coffin, Michael, 26. 

Coffin, O. Vincent, 535, 537, 541. 

Coffinberry, H. D., 393. 

Coffinberry, J. M., 384. 

Colleges, 311-13, 339-4o, 443-44, 545,- 
546. 

Collins, William, 405. 

Collins, William H., 229. 

Columbus street bridge, 269. 

Col well, A. G., 307, 359. 

Commerce, 119, 125, 394-96, 460-62, 
49S-500. 

Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, 
1S6, 187, 189, 292, 342, 34S. 

Commercial Branch Bank, 342, 347. 

Commercial House, 212. 

Commercial Mutual InsuranceCom- 
pany, 351. 

Commercial National Bank, 342. 

Committee of One Hundred, 475. 

CommonPleas Court, 149-50,356,423. 



J&4 



JXDEX. 



Conequenessing Creek, 12. 


Craig, Isaac, 11-13. 




Conger, James L., 179. 


Cranberry Plains, 12. 




Congregational Church, 314. 


Craw, James, 248, 250, 355. 




Congressional representatives, 509. 


Craw, William V., 26S, 27S. 




Connecticut Land Company, 9, 65, 


Crawford, John, 229. 




S9, 90, 123, 174; organized, 20-21, 


Crawford, Willard. 310. 




24-26; list of officers and men, 


Criminal events, 133, 166-71, 


473- 


26-27; Indian conferences, 31-32, 


474- 




35-36, 122; meeting, January, 


Critchneld, L. R., 407. 




J797. 53; appeal to Congress, 60. 


Crittenden, X. E., 17S, 229, 306 




Connotton Valley Railway Co., 336. 


Croly, Mrs. J. C, 550. 




Conservatory of Music, 44S. 


Cromwell, Miss Rebecca. 


See 


Constable, town, 1S03, 11S. 


Rouse, Mrs. Rebecca C. 




Constables, 94, in. 


Crook, Richard, 294. 




" Constellation," the, 263. 


Cross, D. W., 277, 291, 446. 




Constitutional Convention, 117. 


Cross, George, 247. 




Conterno's Ninth Regiment Band, 


Crowell, John, 358. 




534- 


Crum, X. X., 475. 




Contractor, the, 125. 


Cuddebach, James, 16S. 




Converse, C. C, 326. 


Cuddy-Mullen Co., 414. 




Converse, Sophia, 2S2. 


Culver, Oliver, 119. 




Cook, Samuel, 247, 270, 271, 426. 


Cunningham, Robert, 328. 




Cook, William, 427. 


Curtis, A. H., 273. 




Cooley, Lathrop, 532, 550. 


Curtiss, James M., 476-77. 




Coolihan, Thomas, 246. 


Cushman, E. H., 526. 




Coon, John, 446, 447. 


Cutter, Orlando, 198, 205, 35S. 




Corner, Horace B., 4S5. 


Cutter, W. L., 341, 348. 




Coughlin, John, 475. 


Cuyahoga and Muskingum Xa\ 


iga- 


Council, City, 269-71; 183S, 272-73; 


tion Lottery, 135. 




1840, 275 ; 1891, 482 ; headquarters, 


Cuyahoga Anti-Slavery Society, 


292. 


367-68 ; joint meeting, 365 ; action 


Cuyahoga County, 47, 94, 147, 


148, 


on annexing Ohio City, 362-65. 


166, 303. 




Counties organized, 147-48. 


Cuyahoga County Agricultural 


So- 


County commissioners, 18 10, 150. 


ciety, 340. 




Courthouse, 165, 228, 374-75. 


Cuyahoga County Colonization 


So- 


Courts, 149-52, 404, 422-23, 442, 469. 


ciety, 229. 




Covert, John C, 519, 525, 551. 


Cuyahoga County Medical Society. 


Cowen, William, 248, 354. 


407. 




Cowles, Alfred H., 515. 


Cuyahoga County Soldiers' 


and 


Cowles, Edwin, 507, 513, 514. 


Sailors' Monument, 494-97. 




Cowles, Giles H., 104. 


Cuyahoga River, 9, 10, 11, 13, 


16. 


Cowles, J. G. W., 419, 52b, 530, 537, 


17, 202; improvement of, 129, 


134. 


548, 554; opens Centennial exer- 


305- 




cises, 528. 


Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Co.. 


257- 


Cowles, Samuel, 198, 215, 224, 229, 






294. 


Daillon, La Roche, 4. 




Cozad, Andrew, 471. 


Daly, Charles, 93. 




Cozad, Elias, 147. 


Daly, John, 216. 




Cozad, Jacob D., 455. 


Dangler, David A., 405. 





INDEX. 



5*3 



iw, Nathan B., 103, t68. 
Davenport, Samuel, 26. 
Davidson. Benjamin, g \. 
1 Davidson, C. A., p.- 
Day, John. 471. 
Day. L. \V., 462, 464. 
Day. William. 286. 
Day. Wilson M., 403. 530, 535, 547. 
553, 555: connection with 

Centennial. 520. 521, 525, 547. 
1 >ean, William. 125-26. 
1 >ean and McKinney, 270. 
1 »(. lameter, John, 312. 
Delaney, William, 24S. 
Delawares, the. 124. 
Demmg, George, 525. 
Denison. Ch., 242. 
Dennis, R. B., 2S3, 513. 
Dental School, 44S. 
Detroit road, 140. 
Detroit street float -bridge, 297. 
Devereux, J. H., 454. 
Dewstoe, Charles C, 495. 
Dibble, Lewis, 245, 368. 
Dickinson, James W., 393. 
Dickman, F. J., S6, 115, 359, 36S. 
Dille, Asa, 150, 160. 
Dille, Lewis, 160. 
Dille. Lewis R., 229. 
Dille, Luther, 160. 
Dille, Samuel, 154, 160, 168, 174. 
Dilly, David, 127. 
Directory, 272, 292-93. 

ters, 432, 467-69, 508-509. 
tte, Mrs. T. K., 526, 549. 
District Court, 469. 
-, Daniel, 133. 
Divorce, 152. 
Doan, Job. 246, 471. 
Doan, John, S1-S2, 109, 127, 290. 
Doan, Nathaniel, 27, 52, 61, 62, 81, 

iit, 121, 136, 143, 154; judge, 118; 

lieutenant, 120; captain, 126; 

opening Cleveland and Huron 

road, 140; county commissioner, 

150; facts about, 551. 
Doan, Sarah, 112, 114. 
Doan, Seth, 154, 160, 16S, 187. 
Doan, Timothy, 118, 122, 126, 135, 



1 \n. 1 - 1 : sc ttles in Cleveland, 
to8 i<><,. 

1 loan, William 11., 451, 466. 

1 loan's Corners, 1 59, 
Dockstader, B. W.. 250. 

Dockstader, Nicholas, 268, 271, 272. 

274, 276. 
1 )odds, John, ;, 1 ;. 

Dodge, George C, 267, 272, 440. 
Dodge, Henry H., 267, 281, 310, 

368. 
Dodge, Lewis, 339. 
Dodge, Ossian E., 386. 
Dodge, S. D., 551. 
Dodge, Samuel, 126, 127, 136, 160. 
Dodge, Wilson S., 519. 
Dover, 303. 
Dow, Prentis, 341. 
Doyle, Alexander, 456. 
Doyle, Anthony, 160. 
Draper, Andrew S., 464. 
Dubrey, A. H., 311. 
Dudley, Stephen, 177. 
Duncan, James, 186. 
Dunham, Timothy, 26. 
Dunlevy, Frances, 113. 
Dunn, James, 526. 
Dutton, C. F., 554. 
Dutton, Charles, 92. 
Duty, F. Jennie, 465. 

Eagle Tavern, 294. 

Early Settlers' Association, 438-40, 

550-52, 534, 550. 
East Cleveland, 337, 421. 
Eddy, Ira, 229. 
Eddy, Zachariah, 247. 
Edgewater Park, 41 S. 
Editors, visit during Centennial, 

545-46. 
Education, in Ohio, 1 13-16. 
Education, Board of, 2S7, 376-77, 

464-65. 

Educational and Industrial Union, 

404. 
Edwards, Henry, 154. 
Edwards, John S., 152. 
Edwards, Rodolphus, 69, 90, 96, 144, 

150, 154, 174; biographical note, 



J66 



INDEX. 



61 ; constable, 118 ; protest against 
Capt. Carter, 121. 

Edwards, ^William, 307, 359, 415, 
522, 525, 526. 

Eells, Dan P., 454. 

Eells, Mrs. Dan P., 548. 

Eisenmann, John, 477. 

Eldred, Moses, 161. 

Eldridge, Alonzo, 311. 

Eldridge, David, 55-56. 

Eldridge, Moses A., 272. 

Elections, for legislature, 95, 118; 
town, 1 1 7-1 8; military, 120, 126; 
city, 1836, 267; 1837, 271; 1838, 
272; 1840, 274; 1853, 354-55; presi- 
dential, 307-308; State, 423. 

Elections, Board of, 472. 

Electricity, 430-32. 

Elivir, William, 11S. 

Ellsler, John A., 426, 428. 

Elwell, J. J., 495, 532-33, 55i- 

Ely, Heman B., 79, 277, 318, 332, 333. 

Elyria, 296. 

Emerson, Frank A., 525. 

Emmett Guards, the, 433. 

English traders. See French and 
English traders. 

Ensign, Ira, 154. 

Enterprise, the, 207. 

Episcopal Church, 238, 315, 338. 

Epworth League, 480. 

Erie, collection district of, 128. 

Erie, Lake, 2-3, 6, 134, 365. 

Erie Lodge, 311. 

Erie Street Cemetery, 228. 

Eries, the, 5. 

Errett, Isaac, 453. 

Esch, A. J., 462. 

Erwin, — , 285. 

Euclid, 49-50, 122, 158, 303. 

Euclid avenue, 60, 236, 338. 

Euclid Avenue Congregational 
Church, 314. 

Euclid Avenue Opera House, 426, 
428, 546. 

Euclid street, 46. 

European possessions in North 
America, 7. 

Evans, J. Ford, 433. 



Evarts, Samuel, 161. 
Everett, A., 345, 405, 415. 
Everett, Henry, 355. 
Everett, Weddell and Co., 345. 
Everitt, Jeremiah, 168. 
Executions, 166-71, 474. 
Exports, 130. 

Fairbanks, A. W., 511. 

Fairport, 319. 

Fairs, agricultural, 340 ; Ohio State, 
405- 

Farmer, Mrs. Lydia Hoyt, 549. 

Farmer's Block, 282. 

Fee, E. B., 357. 

Fen, Richard, 150. 

Fence viewers, 1803, 118. 

Ferry-boat, provided for, 270. 

Fessenden, the A. P., revenue cut- 
ter, built, 263. 
! Fever and ague, presence of, 61, 62, 
67, 68. 

Fifteenth regiment Ohio National 
Guards, 433. 

Finance, law for city loan, 270; 
resolution to raise $50,000, 272: 
report of committee, 1836, 273; 
funds realized from stocks, 364; 
city debt, assets, and sinking- 
fund, 505. 

Finch, Banks, 151. 

Finney, James B., 273, 275. 

Fire Department, 232, 543 ; public 
well for, 155; first fire engine, 
179; chiefs and assistants, 1S37- 
1852, 247-48; regular companies 
organized, 247-50 ; reorganized. 
248, 392-94 ; ordinance regulating, 
1836, 270; chiefs, 1864-80, 392-93. 

Fire Lands, the, 19, 123. 

Fire Lands Company, 123, 126. 

Fire Underwriters, Board of, 352. 

Fireman's Insurance Company, 341. 

Fires, losses, etc., 467-69. 

First Baptist Church, 250-51. 

First Cleveland Troop, organized, 

434- 
First Congregational Church, 259. 
First National Bank, 345. 



INDEX. 



J&7 



First Presbyterian Church, 212 1 1. 

314- 469- 
Fish, Charles L., 471. 
Fish, Ebenezer, 161, 240. 
Fish, James, 239-40. 
Fish, Job, 203. 
Fish, Moses. 240. 
Fisher. Waldo A. , 405. 
Fisheries, Lake, 503. 
Fitch, Abby, 2 
Fitch, Gurdon, 267. 471. 
Fitch, Jabez W., 250, 446; fire chief, 

24S; marshal, 36S; President Hu- 
mane Society, 410. 
Fitch, James, 354. 
Fitch, Miss Sarah, 424. 
Fitzgerald, J. R., 471. 
Flagler, Henry M., 391. 
Flagstaff, erected on Public Square, 

429. 
Flood of 18S3, 467. 
Florists' Club, exhibition, 552. 
Floyd, T. C, 247, 24S. 
Fogg, William Perry, 359, 377, 398, 

399, 410, 512. 
Foljambe, Samuel, 471. 
Food, scarcity of, S0-S3. 
Foot, John A., 251-52, 273, 274, 275, 

323> 35S. 
Foote, Herschel, 192. 
Foran, Martin A., 509, 521, 525. 
Forbes, Alexander, 463. 
Forbes, Samuel, 26. 
Force, C. G., 477. 
Force, Emory W., 495. 
Forest City Bank, 347. 
Forest City Guards, 433. 
Forest City Insurance Company, 

352. 
Fort Industry, 124. 
Fort Stanwix, 9. 
Foster, Charles, 427. 
Foster, Charles B., 454. 
Foster, Miss Hannah, Centennial 

ode, 548. 
Fox, S. H., 314. 
Founder's Day, 534-45. 
Fourth of July, 1S01, no. 
Franklin, Benjamin, n. 



Franklin and Warren Railroad 

Company 
Franklin Circle Pari 
Franklin House, 

nan. Silas 

Freeman, Zebnlon R. S., 161. 

Fremont, 

Freese, Andrew. 282, 283, 289, 462. 

French and English traders, 7, 9. 

Friedrich, V.. 

Fry, Dr., . 

Fugitive Slave Law, 3S7-S9. 

Fulton, Robert, 154. 

Gabberden, Mrs., 237. 

Gale, Rodney, 446. 

Gallagher, Michael, 354, 355. 

Gardner, George W., 283, 482. 

Gardner, James, 355, 362. 

Gardner, John, 471. 

Garfield, Harry A., 520. 

Garfield, James A., 87, 451-56. 

Garfield, Mrs. James A. , 548. 

Garfield National Monument Asso- 
ciation, 454, 455. 

Garlick, Abel R., 197. 

Garretson, George A., 434, 526. 

Garretson, Hiram, 307. 

Gas, 316. 

Gas Light and Coke Company, 
316. 

Gates, H. X., 349. 

Gatling Gun Battery, 433, 546. 

Gaylor, Charles D., 434. 

Gaylord, Allen, 130, 154, 159, 161. 

Gaylord, E. F., 349. 

Gaylord, Erastus, 147, 249. 

Gaylord, L. C, 294. 

Gaylord, William, 197. 

Gaylord Block, 355. 

Gazette" and Commercial Register, 
209. 

Gazlay, R. L., 278. 

Gear, Charles, 1S4. 

Geauga County, 148. 

Geer, James, 133. 

Gelatt, R. B., 516. 

General Quarter Sessions, 92-94. 



J68 



INDEX. 



German Fire Insurance Company, 


Gray, J. W., 258, 507, 512. 


352. 




Gray, N. A., 282. 


German Guards, 292. 




Grays, Cleveland, 290-92, 307, 309. 


German Lutherans, 529. 




Grays' Armory, 544, 549. 


German population, 259. 




Great Western Oil Works, explo- 


German Protestant Church, 259 


529- 


sion, 467. 


Gibbons, John W., 482. 




Great Western Railway project, 317. 


Gibson, John F., 433. 




Green, Ebenezer, 160. 


Giddings, Charles M., 186, 226, 


262. 


Green, Frederick W., 368. 


Giddings, Mrs. Charles, 237. 




Green, John P., 471. 


Giddings, Joshua R., 80. 




Green, Philip, 229. 


Giddings, Baldwin and Company, 


Green Spring Academy, 448. 


235, 305- 




Gries, Rabbi Moses J., 529, 550, 554, 


Gilbert, Augustus, 126, 127, 14c 


>• 


556. 


Gilbert, Levi, 529, 554. 




Griffin, Mrs. H. A., 526. 


Gilbert, Stephen, 61, 94, 118, 


138, 


Griffin, the, 6, 200, 201. 


139- x 54- 




Griffith, David, 365. 


Gill, John, 247, 250, 325. 




Griffith, Standart and Company, 


Gillett, George E., 333. 




306. 


Gilmore, Orin, 229. 




Grist-mill, 63. 


Gilmore, William, 138, 139. 




Griswold, E. R., 471. 


Gilmour, Bishop, 455. 




Griswold, Hiram, 358. 


Gleason, William J., 472, 494, 


495, 


Griswold, Seneca O., 45, 46, 3S3, 422, 


496, 526. 




423, 446; on Ohio City charter 


Globe Theatre, 427. 




amendment, 289. 290. 


Gold, Benjamin, 120. 




Griswold, Stanley, 143, 146, 14S. 


Good Intent, the, 129. 




Guilbert, W. D., 525. 


Good Intent Fast Mail Stage Line, 


Guilford, Linda T., 548, 553. 


294. 




Gummage, Captain, 349. 


Gooding, George, 26. 




Gun, Mrs. Anna, 50, 52. 


Goodman, Alfred T., 399, 401. 




Gun, Elijah, 50, 53, 55, 61, 118. 


Goodspeed, W. F., 433. 




Gunn, Charles, 154, 16S. 


Goodwillie, Thomas, 433. 




Gunn, Christopher, 154, 168. 


Goodwin, W. T., 310. 




Gunn, Elijah, Jr., 154, 168. 


Gordon, William J., 349, 355, 


416, 




479- 




Halcyonism, 130. 


Gordon Park, 416-20. 




Hale, E. B., 345. 


Government Building, 509. 




Hale, E. B., and Co., 345. 


Grace Church, 315. 




Halket, James, 27. 


Graduate School, 44S. 




Hall, Alfred, 271, 272. 


Grain, 81, 82, 83. 




Hall, Jabez, 453. 


Grand Army of the Republic, 543. 


Hall, William B., 26, 51. 


Grand River, 10, 11, 79. 




Hamilton, Chester, 154. 


Granger, Gideon, 125, 129, 142. 




Hamilton, E. T. 421. 


Granger's Hill, 239. 




Hamilton, James, 27, 11S, 121, 154. 


Grannis, John C, 407. 




Hamilton, Justice, 154. 


Graves, Noah, 241. 




Hamilton, Samuel, 107, 154. 


Gray, A. N., 258, 512. 




Hamilton, Samuel, Jr., 154. 


Gray, Francis, 26. 




Hamilton, Thomas, 160. 



INDEX, 



5<>9 



Hamter, Hiram, 177. 

Hanchet, Luke, 27, 153. 

Hand)-, Parker, 344. 

Handy, Truman P., 2S3, 2S6, 294, 
314, 34S, 454, 479, 549, 551; bank 
cashier and director, 1S6, 1S7, 262 ; 
incorporator C. &U.R. R.Co., 256; 
treasurer C, C. & C. R. R., 323; 
president Merchant's National 
Bank, 341 ; cashier Commercial 
Branch Bank, 342; president of 
Clearing House, 347. 

Hanna, Marcus Alonzo, 42S, 525. 

Hanna, Mrs. Marcus Alonzo, 526, 

549- 
Hanna, Robert, 306. 
Harbach, Frederick, 323, 333. 
Harberson, Robert, 161. 
Harbor, 20S, 412-14. 
Harmon, John, 130. 
Harmonic Society, 294. 
Harper, Rice, 31S. 
Harpersfield, S3. 

Harrington, Benjamin, 249, 272, 507. 
Harris, Andrew L., 521. 
Harris, Mrs. Josiah A., 550. 
Harris, J. A., 275, 276, 511. 
Harris, S. D., 405. 
Harris, Thadeus Mason, 16-17. 
Harris, Thomas, 26. 
Harris, W. H., 434. 
Harrison, Benjamin, 455. 
Harrison, William Henry, 165, 309. 
Harrison campaign, 1S40, 307-309. 
Hart, Edward, 24S. 
Hart, Gad, 79. 
Hart, Richard W., 92. 
Hart, Seth, 54, 55, 71. 72, 97- 
Hart, William, 354- 
Hart Guards, the, 433. 
Hartford, 134. 
Hartz, A. F., 469. 
Haserot, S. F., 520. 
Haskell, Daniel, 507. 
Hatch, H. R., 360, 449~5o, 525, 535- 
Hatch Library, 449~5o. 
Hawkins, Henry C, 550. 
Hawley, Ezekiel, 56, 63, 71, 75, 92, 
96, 118. 



I [awley, " ( rrandma," 359. 
Hawleyjoseph k., 535, 536, 541. 545- 

Hay, J.»hn, (.54, j = =. 

Haydon, Anson, 278. 

I [ayes, Lester, 377, 

Hayes, Rutherford B., 454, 455. 

Hayes, Webb C, 520. 

Hayes, William, 2161 

1 tayr, James, 495. 

Hays, Kaufman, 525. 

Haynes, George R., 469. 

Hayward, Nelson, 247, 250, 276. 

Hay ward, W. H., 393. 

Health, Board of , 179, 242-43. 

Heard, C. W., 250. 

Heckewelder, John, 13-16. 

Hecox, Ambrose, 151. 

Heinmiller, G., 530. 

Heisley, John W., 368, 407, 421. 

Helman, Byron E., 526. 

Henderson, Darius E., 1S1. 

Henderson, William C, 229. 

Henry Clay, the, 243. 

Herrick, Myron T., 465, 522. 

Hernck, R. R., 4S2. 

Hebburn, Morris, 268, 270. 

Herald, the, 43, 209-10, 258, 348-49, 
350, 511-12. 

Herrick, Stephen, 2S2. 

Hessenmueller, Edward, 471. 

Hester, George, 471. 

Hewitt, Isaac L., 349, 372. 

Hewitt, J. L., 306. 

Hewitt, Morgan L., 372. 

Hibernian Fire Insurance Co., 352. 

Hibernian Guards, the, 292. 

Hickox, Abraham, 137-38, 153, 184. 

Hickox, Charles, 339. 

Hickox, F. F., 522. 

Hickox, Lester L., 405. 

Hickox, Milo H., 237-38, 250. 

Hickox, — , 2S5. 

Highways, 212. 

Hill, James, 24S, 355, 392. 

Hilliard, Richard, 177, 215-16, 265, 
26S, 270, 322, 354, 366; member 
Board of Trade, 339; trustee Ho- 
meopathic Hospital College, 340. 

Hillman, James, 15. 



57o 



LXDEX. 



Hills, James, 162. 




Hoyt, James M., 410. 


Hinckley, Isaac, 240. 




Hubbel, Ephraim, 154. 


Hinsdale, Burke Aaron, 464, 553. 


Hubbel, Jedediah, 154. 


Hiram College, 553. 




Hubby, L. M., 339, 340. 


Historical conferences, 553-54. 




Hubby, Hughes & Co., 306. 


Hitchcock, Mrs. P. M., 526. 




Hudson, David, 93, 118. 


Hitchcock, Peter, 146, 149, 152, 


167. 


Hudson, W. N., 399. 


Hoadley, Calvin, 16S. 




Hudson, 122, 171, 327. 


Hoadly, George, 269, 276, 283, 


471. 


Hudson River, 134. 


Hoadly, Mrs. George, 237. 




Hughes, J. M., 354. 


Hoadley, Lemuel, 168. 




Hughes, Lemira W. , 463. 


Hobart, M. M., 359, 477. 




Hughes and Lester, 307. 


Hodge, Orlando J., 290, 354, 


355, 


Hull, William, 143. 


410, 525- 




Hulligan, William H., 473. 


Hodge, Mrs. Orlando J., 526. 




Hull's surrender, 157-59. 


Hoehm, Henry, 473, 474. 




Humane Society, 410-11. 


Holbrook, Daniel, 53. 




Humphreys, Henry, 522. 


Holden, L. Dean, 513. 




Hungerford, Samuel, 26. 


Holden, L. E., 359, 521, 525, 


526, 


Hunt, Nathan, 296. 


53°> 538; president Plain Dealer 


Huntington, H. W., 349. 


Publishing Co., 513. 




Huntington, John, 421, 436, 479, 


Holden, R. R., 513. 




510. 


Holley, John Milton, 26, 28-30, 41, 


Huntington, Mrs. John, 526. 


51-52, 65. 




Huntington, Samuel, 92, 97-99, 104, 


Holly, Alexander H., 41. 




117, 118, 125, 135, 136, 145; govern- 


Holly, Alphonso, 154. 




or, 99; judge, 130; appoints 


Holly, Ezekiel, 154. 




Senator Griswold, 143 ; visits War 


Holly, Lorin, 154. 




Department, 162; aid of Gen. 


Holt, Jeremiah, 314. 




Harrison, 165. 


Home for Aged Women, 404. 




Huntington, Mariette Leek, 510. 


Home for Incurables, 404. 




Huntington, Fort, 157, 163. 


Homeopathic Hospital College 


339> 


Hurd, C. W., 247. 


340. 




Hurlbut, H. B., 344, 455, 509. 


Honey, Mr., 154. 




Hurlbut, John E., 421. 


Hopkins, Erastus, 358. 




Huron County, 148. 


Hopkins, Robert, 229. 




Huron River, 140, 162. 


Horticultural Society, 406. 




Huston, George B., 433. 


Horton, W. P., 359, 360. 




Hutchins, John C, 368, 403, 507, 


Hosmer, Eben, 154, 181. 




525. 


Hospitality, 84-85. 




Hutchinson, Amos, 340. 


Hospitals, 163, 292, 405. 






Hotels, 295, 316, 426. 




Ice Age, in Ohio, 3. 


Houck, George F., 554. 




Immigration, to Ohio, 76-79. 


Houghton, Ross C, 453. 




Inches, Chloe, 72, 96. 


Howe, Eben D., 204, 209-10. 




Independence, population in 1840, 


Howells, J. A., 44. 




303- 


Howland, Joseph, 92. 




Independence Day, first celebration, 


Hoyt, Charles, 257. 




33-35- 


Hoyt, James H., 525, 535, 536, 


556. 


Indians, in Ohio, 8; friendly, 50-51; 



IXDEX. 



57' 



council to settle chums. 123-24; 

surrender rights, 123. 
Indian trails, 239. 
Industrial School, 358. 
Ingham, Mrs. W. A., 359, 360, 424, 

520. 547, 54*, 549. 554- 
Ingraham, Timothy, 274, 290-91, 310. 
Insane Asylum, 349-51, 356-57- 
Insurance Companies, 351-52. 
Internal revenue collections, 1891, 

505- 
Iris Lodge, 310. 

Iron industry, 230-31, 303, 369-73. 
Iroquois, warfare, 5 ; treaty, 9. 
Irwin, William W., 152, 168. 
Israelitish Church Congregation, 

360. 
Italian Hall, 427. 

Jackson, Morris, 282. 

Jail, 166. 

James, H. M., 462. 

James, Jackson, 161. 

James, John, 161. 

Jefferson County, 60, 147, 148. 

Jennings, Anderson, 382. 

Jessup, Major, 163, 165. 

Jewet, Charles, 123. 

Jewett and Goodman Organ Com- 
pany, 353. 

Jewish cemetery, 360. 

"John Sherman," revenue cutter, 
263. 

Johnson, Benhu, 155. 

Johnson, Benjamin, 153. 

Johnson, Eliza, 283. 

Johnson, Mrs. Grace, 230. 

Johnson, L. D., 273. 

Johnson, Levi, 153, 163, 168, 177, 
197, 207, 234; biographical sketch, 
144, 145; builds courthouse and 
jail, 165; launches the "Pilot," 
1 73 ; incorporator Cleveland Pier 
Company, 181. 

Johnson, Samuel W., 20. 

Johnson, Seth W., 262, 263. 

Johnson, Tom L., 3S0, 509. 

Johnson, Sir William, 9, 10. 

Jones, Asa W., 525. 



Jones, Benjamin, 168. 
Jones, Cornelius, 229. 
Jones, James M., 262, 368, 422, 423, 

510. 
Jones, John P., 262, 283. 
Jones, L. H., 464, 553. 
Jones, Samuel, 118, 130, 153, 159, 

168, 169; ensign of militia, 120; 

lieutenant, 126. 
Jones, Thomas, Jr., 420, 440, 507. 
Joseph, Moritz, 521. 
Judd, Daniel S., 161. 
Junction Railroad Company, 364. 
June, Jennie. See Croly, Mrs. J. C. 
Jurymen, 126, 127. 
Justices of the Peace, 470. 

Kaquahs, 4, 5. 

Keeler, Harriet L. , 462. 

Keith, F. C, 359. 

Keith, Myron R., 404. 

Keller, George, 455. 

Kelley, Alfred, 129, 150, 151, 153, 
158, 192, 222, 223, 326; sketch of, 
146; prosecuting attorney, 149, 
2T5; practices in Supreme Court, 
153; militia ensign, 160; O'Mic 
trial, 167; president of village 
staff, 176; brings a bride, 183-S4; 
director Commercial Bank, 186, 
187; farm, 241; city allotment, 
265 ; president C, C. and C. R. R., 
323; director C, P. and A. R. R., 
332; trustee Kelley art-fund, 510. 

Kelley, Daniel, 176, 177; incorpora- 
tor Pier Company, 1S1; postmas- 
ter, 507. 

Kelley, Datus, 181, 229. 

Kelley, Horace, 479, 510-11. 

Kelley, Irad, 173, 181, 507. 

Kelley, Joseph R., 173, 177. 

Kelley, Jabez, 155. 

Kelley, Madison, 25S, 283. 

Kelley, Moses, 273, 364. 

Kelley, Thomas, 265. 

Kelsey, Lorenzo A., 276. 

Kendall, F. A., 360. 

Kendall, Mrs. F. A., 526. 

Kendall, Lyman, 256. 



572 



IXDEX. 



Kennard House, 36S. 

Kennedy, Charles E., 513. 

Kent, Roswell, 1S6. 

Kerruish, W. S., 532. 

Kilbuck, River, 9. 

Kilby, John, 247. 

Kimball, Abel, 333. 

King, David, 186. 

King, Ebenezer, 93. 

King, George, 340. 

King, Hezekiah, 168. 

King, Stephen, 161. 

Kingsbury, James, 96, 120, 154, 163, 
174, 188, given land, 52; family 
ill, 55; in the wilderness, 56-59; 
moves to Newburg, 59-60- de- 
vises means for grinding corn, 
62; children lost, 75; buys city 
lot, 92 ; at court, 93 ; justice of 
peace, 94; death, 94; trustee and 
overseer, 118; supervisor, 122; 
candidate for representative, 126; 
erects mill, 127; commissioner 
Navigation lottery, 135; enter- 
tains Commodore Perry, 165; in- 
corporator Pier Co., 181. 

Kingsbury, Louisa, 282. 

Kingsbury Run, 46. 

Kinney, George W., 520, 521, 525, 
526, 544- 

Kinney, Thornton, 261. 

Kinsman, Frederick, 328. 

Kinsman street, 46, 60. 

Kirby, Ephraim, 20. 

Kirk, George, 249, 268, 271, 272. 

Kirkpatrick, J., 384. 

Kirtland, Jared P., 124, 145, 312, 405. 

Kirtland, Turhand, 89-91, 93, 135. 

Klemm, L. R., 462. 

Kline, Virgil P., 407, 497. 

Knights of Pythias, 553. 

Knights of St. John, 543. 

Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, 7. 

Knights Templar, 455. 

Knowlton, Lucinda, 230. 

Kolbe, George A., 471. 

Lacey, Thadeus, 121, 122. 
Ladd, Rev. H. M., 549. 



Ladies' Tract Society, 237. 

Lady Provost, The, 164. 

Lake, L., 353. 

Lake County, 148. 

Lake Erie. See Erie, Lake. 

Lake Erie Telegraph Company, 277. 

Lake front, 289. 

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 

Railroad, 330-34, 432, 434. 
Lake Shore and Tuscarawas Valley 

Railroad, 335. 
Lake Shore Company, 289. 
Lake Shore Foundry, 353. 
Lake View Cemetery, 361, 453, 455, 

456. 
Lake View Park, 415. 
Lamb, D. H., 365. 
Lamson, I. P., 360. 
Landon, Joseph, 27, 41, 50, 54, 61. 
Lane, Henry, 93. 
Lane, John, 124. 
Lapham, J., 311. 
La Salle, Rene de, 5, 6. 
Lauterman, John, 160. 
Law School, 448. 
Lawrence, James, 532. 
Lawrence, W. E., 247. 
Lawyers, 145, 146, 471. 
Leach, James, 150. 
Leader, the, history of, 513-15. 
Lee, Guy, 161. 
Leggett, M. D., 403, 495. 
Legislature, Territorial, 117. 
Leland, C. T., 406. 
Lemen, Tom, 233. 
Lemmon, T., 247. 

Lemon, William, 226, 233, 234, 262. 
Leonard, William A., bishop, 455, 

528. 
Lepper, C. W., 345. 
Leslie, Jonathan, 103. 
Lester, S. F., 306. 
Letter Carriers' Association, 543. 
Lewis, James, 150. 
Libraries, 287, 311, 316, 399, 401, 402, 

403, 449-5o. 
Library Association, 315. 
Light Artillery, 291, 438. 
Light Horse, 290. 



fxn/cx. 



573 



Lighthouse, 234. 
Lights, 271. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 394. 

Lincoln, Mrs. Annette Phelps, 550. 

Liiul, Jenny, 263. 

Lippitt, Charles Warren, 555, 556. 

Lister, 1S03, 118. 

Little, Dave, 246. 

Lock, John, 27. 

Logan, Andrew, 209. 

Log-cabin, 531-34- 

Log-cabins of 1S40, 307, 308. 

Lohrer, Jacob J., 473. 

Long, David, 12S, 129, 153, 177, 197, 
1S4, 227, 241, 242, 249, 294; bio- 
graphical sketch, 146-47 ; in Sec- 
ond Presbyterian Church, 314; di- 
rector Commercial Bank of Lake 
Erie, 187; with Cleveland Pier 
Company, 181; trusteeship, 176; 
owner of O'Mic's skeleton, 171. 

Long, Mrs. David, 158, 237. 

Lorain County, 148. 

Lord, Richard, 241, 257, 365. 

Lord, Samuel, 92. 

Lord, Samuel P., 23S, 241. 

Lord and Barber, 240, 241. 

Lothmann, W. H., 529. 

Lottery, Cuyahoga and Muskingum 
Navigation, 135, 136. 

Loveland, Amos, 77. 

Lowman, Jacob, 250. 

Lowman, John H., 479, 510. 

Ludlow, A. C, 554. 

Luetkemeyer, H. W., 393, 436. 

Lumber-yard fires, 468. 

Lutheran Church, 529. 

Lyceum, 294. 

Lynde, George W., 471. 

Lyon, Harvey, 241. 

Lyon, Richard T. , 283, 306, 339, 412, 
440. 

Lyon, S. S., 247. 

McAlpine, W. J., 455. 
McBarron, P. A., 292. 
McCartney, Edward, 140. 
McCaskey, George, 230. 
McClure, Samuel G., 521, 525. 



McConkey, William, [61. 

McCurdy, Captain, 247. 

Machol, M., 554. 

Mcllrath, Thomas, 151, 161. 

Mcintosh, A., 325, 354, 362. 

Mcintosh, George T., 522. 

Mclntyre, Joseph, 26. 

Mack, John T., 545. 

McKay, George A., 433. . 

McKinley, William, 455, 535, 541, 
545, 547 ; at dedication of Soldiers' 
Monument, 497; Honorary Presi- 
dent Centennial Commission, 521; 
address on Founder's day, 538-40. 

McKinley, Mrs. William, 549. 

McKinnie, W. J., 410. 

McKisson, Robert E., 493, 529, 530- 
31, 532, 535, 548, 549, 552, 556, 
■ President Centennial Commis- 
sion, 521, 525. 

McLean, William, 194. 

McMillin, F. C, 477. 

Magee, James, 328. 

Maiden Lane, 45. 

Mail route, 1801, 127-28; to Detroit, 
140; eastward, 141; to Pittsburg, 
141-42. 

Manhattan, 319, 320 

Manchester, Charles E., 555. 

Manchester, D. U., 4S3. 

Mandrake street, 42. 

Manufactures, 502 ; chief plants in 
1837, 292. 

Marietta, 92-93, 113. 

Marine Hospital, 405. 

Markets, 179, 233; Michigan street 
market, 273; in 1837, 292. See 
also Central Market. 

Marshal, city, 181 5, 176. 

Marshall, George F. , 323, 355, 519, 
521, 550; resolution on Woodland 
Cemetery, 360-61 ; speech Log- 
Cabin day, 533-34. 

Mason, Asa, 26. 

Mason, James, 406. 

Mason, Samuel, 250. 

Masonic organizations, 310-n. 

Masury, Joseph, 359. 

Maternal Association, 294. 



574 



INDEX. 



Mather, Samuel, 525. 

Mather, Samuel, Jr., 20. 

Mather, Samuel H., 2S3, 314, 342, 

343- 

Mather, Samuel L., 372. 

Mather, Thomas, 54. 

Matthews, Gov. of West Va., 43S. 

May, George, 352. 

May, P., 242. 

Mayfield, population, 1S40, 303. 

Maynard, Allyne, 377, 446. 

Mayors, 1841-96, 276-77; 1S66, 398; 
iSSS, 477; 1891, 4S2. 

Mechanics' Hall, 427. 

Meckes, John, 522, 525. 

Medical College, 311, 340. 

Medical School, 44S, 450. 

Medical Societies, 407. 

Medill, Joseph, 514. 

Medina County, 14 8. 

Meigs, Gov., 163. 

Mellen, L. F., 359, 554. 

Melodeon Hall. See Globe Theatre. 

Menompsy, 74-75, 119. 

Menough, Samuel, 93. 

Mercantile houses, 304-307; whole- 
sale sales for 1892, 503. 

Mercantile Insurance Co., 352. 

Mercantile National Bank, 341-42. 

Merchant, Ahaz, 234, 256. 

Merchants' Branch Bank, 341. 

Merchants' National Bank, 341. 

Meriam, J. B., 466. 

Meriam and Morgan, 467. 

Merriam, Governor of Minn., 535, 

54i. 

Merwin, George B., 207, 271. 
Merwin, Noble H., 1S2, 207, 225, 

235, 305- 
Merwin's Tavern, 236. 
Methodist Episcopal Church, 229- 

30, 238. 
Meyer, Edward S., 434, 466, 4S2. 
Miami street, 45. 
Michael, A. J., 41 7-1 8. 
Midas Insurance Company, 352. 
Middle Highway. S e e Euclid 

street. 
Middleburg, 303. 



Milan state road, 140. 

Miles, Charles, 154. 

Miles, Daniel, 154. 

Miles, Erastus, 130, 150, 151, 154, 

174, 1S7. 
Miles, Samuel, 154, 168. 
Miles, Theodore, 154. 
Miles, Thompson, 154. 
Milford, William, 275, 339. 
Military organizations, 119-20, 160- 

61, 290-92, 433-3S. 
Mill Creek, 130. 
Miller, Asher, 92. 
Miller, H. T., 404. 
Miller, J. K., 271. 
Miller, Madison, 471. 
Miller, Thomas, 340. 
Miller, Thompson, 177. 
Miller, Atty.-Gen., 455. 
Miller, William E., 509. 
Mills, Charles S., 536. 
Mills, I., 123. 
Mills, Joshua, on Board of Health, 

242 ; alderman, 268 ; president of 

Council, 271; mayor, 272, 273, 276; 

sketch of, 274-75. 
Miner, Daniel, 151. 
Mineral spring, 295. 
Minerva, the, 207. 
Mingus, Jacob, 161. 
Minor, Isaac, 222. 
Minor, John, 93. 
Mitchell, Jacob, 247. 
Mohawk, John, 133. 
Mohawks, 31-32. 
Molyneaux, Joseph B., 495. 
Monroe Street Cemetery, 361. 
Montpelier, A., 42S. 
Monuments, 383-386, 494-97. 
Mooney, Barney, 355. 
Moravian missionaries, 13-16. 
Morey, — , 153. 
Morgan, Caleb, 154. 
Morgan, Charles, 474. 
Morgan, Eli P., 306, 314. 
Morgan, Henry, 276. 
Morgan, Isham, 154-56, 159. 
Morgan, John, 20. 
Morgan, William J., 465. 



INDI-'.X. 



575 



Morgan, Y. L., Sr., 153-54. 

Morgan, Y. L., Jr., 154, [59. 

Morgan family, 77, 78. 

Morison, David, 4S2. 

Morly, Ezekiel, 27, 66. 

Morning Recorder, the, 516. 

Morning Star, the, loss of, 407. 

Morris, F. H., 526. 

Morrow, James B., 515, 525. 

Morrow, Jeremiah, 222. 

Morse, B. F., 437, 477. 

Morton, Daniel O., 368. 

Morton, L. P., 455. 

Morton, W. A., 355. 

Moss, Simeon, 160. 

Mound-builders, 3-4, 155-56. 

Mourey, Plinney, 16S. 

Municipal government, 1851, 354; 

Federal plan, 475, 480-82. 
Munsees, surrender, 124. 
Munson, Titus V., 27, 51. 
Murray, Ebenezer, 140. 
Murray, Elias, 147, 153. 
Murray, Harvey, 147, 153, 160, 

168. 
Murray and Bixby, 139. 
Museum in Kelley Block, 427. 
Music Hall, 428, 451. 
Muskingum River, 11. 
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, 

35i- 
Myers, Daniel, 525. 
Mygatt, George, 349, 358. 

National Bank Building, 342. 
National Bank of Commerce, 344. 
National City Bank, 341. 
National Centennial Year, the, 429, 

43o. 
Navigation, 264. 
Neff, Peter, 485. 
Neff, Mrs. Lizzie Hyer, 526. 
Neff, William A., 421. 
Negro, the, 260, 261, 276. 
Nelson's Ledges, 2. 
Neuter Nation. See Kakquahs. 
New England Society of Cleveland, 

358, 359- 360, 545- 
New France, 6. 



New York, Chicago and St. Louis 
Railroad, 337. 

Newberry, Henry, 231. 

Newburg, Roger, 20. 

Newburg, 39, 60, 63, 64, 127, 241; 
claims for county seat, 149; or- 
ganized township, 174; South 
Presbyterian Church organized, 
241; population in 1840, 303; In- 
sane Asylum, 369; Rolling mill, 
369; annexation, 421. 

Newspapers, 209, 210, 258, 259, 510- 
18. 

Niagara Falls, 30. 

Nicksau, killed by Williams and 
Darrow, 133. 

Nicola, Felix, 471. 

Ninth New York Regiment Band. 
See Conterno's Ninth Regiment 
Band. 

Noble, Henry L., 186, 247, 267, 268, 
271, 278. 

North Brooklyn Cemetery, 360. 

North Highway. See St. Clair 
street. 

Northern Ohio Fair Association, 
405, 406. 

Northern Ohio Poultry Association, 
406. 

Norton, Captain, 243-44. 

Norton, Eliphas, 127. 

Norton, Elisha, 107, 119, 127, 12S. 

Norton, Minor G., 521, 525. 

Nottingham, Henry, 405. 

Noyes, Samuel, 161. 

O Berlin- Wellington rescue cases, 
382, 383. 

Odd Fellows, 311, 543. 

Odell, John, 355. 

Odell, Samuel W., 311. 

Ogden, Benjamin, 161. 

Oglebay, E. W., 525. 

Ogontz place, 124. 

Ohio, archaeology, 2-4; occupation 
by Indians, 7, 8 ; English in, S, 
10, 11; French in, 9; proposed 
water route through, 11; Craig's 
expedition, n-13; Heckewelder's 



57* 



IXDEX. 



map and description, 13-16 


im- 


Pankhurst, John F., 418, 521. 


migration, 76-79; education, 


113- 


Pannell, James, 429. 


16; admitted to the Union, 117. 


Paris, Treaty of, 1763, 8. 


Ohio Canal, 222-26. 




Parish, Jasper, 123. 


Ohio Canal packets, 294. 




Park, Moses, 93. 


Ohio City, 266, 289, 290, 292, 


295. 


Park Theatre, 46S 


338; annexed to Cleveland, 


361- 


Parker, Charles, 27. 


65; list of mayors, 1S36-1S53 


365. 


Parker, Daniel, 130. 


Ohio Company, S. 




Parkman, Robert B., 150, 152. 


Ohio National Bank, 345. 




Parkman, Samuel, 92. 


Ohio National Guard, 433, 530 


531, 


Parks, 415-21, Rockefeller's gift. 


542, 552. 




537-3S. 


Ohio Railroad Company, 319, 3 


20. 


Parma. 303. 


Ohio River, 9, 56, 294. 




Parsons, Richard C. 2S8, 355, 358, 


Old Harmony, 12. 




35Q. 532. 535, 550; ordinance on 


Old Salt Road, So. 




union with Ohio City, 363 ; presi- 


Old Stone Church, 212-14. 




dent of Council, 365 ; sketch of, 


Old Trinity Church, 236. 




412-13; president Early Settlers' 


Olmstead, 303. 




Association, 440 ; congressional 


Olmsted, Aaron, 150. 




representative, 509 ; connection 


Olney, Mrs. C. F., 360. 




with the Herald, 512 ; Centennial 


O'Mic, John, 119, 154, 166-71. 




offices, 520, 521. 


Ontario, 41, 45. 




Parsons, Samuel H, 19. 


Orange township, 148, 303. 




Parsons, Usher, 3S6. 


Osborn, E. W.. 516. 




Passing of the Century, the, 544. 


Otis, Charles A., 369, 393. 




Pavements, early plank, 311. 



Otis, Waldemar, 406, 428. 

Otis, William A., 277, 314. 339, 342, 

364- 
Otis Iron Works, 303. 
Ottawas, the, 124. 
Outhwaite, John, 247, 372. 
Overseers of the Poor, 1803, 11S. 
Oviatt, Heman, 186. 
Oviatt, L. ML, 2S9, 402, 462. 
Oviatt, O. M., 3S4. 

Paige, David R., 333. 

Paine, Charles C, 318. 

Paine, Edward, 50, 53, 94, 95, 96, 

117. 
Paine, Robert F., 79, S7-S8, 339, 36S, 

516. 
Painesville, 50, 53. 
Painter, John, V., 510. 
Palmer, C. W., 387. 
Palmer, Courtland, 216. 
Palmer, Isaac, 93. 
Panic of 1S37, 302. 



Payne, Henry B., 132, 2S5, 323, 326, 
354, 364, 453, 454. 479; commis- 
sioner Commercial Bank, 1S7 ; 
sketch of, 259; city clerk, 269; re- 
signed as city clerk, 271; tele- 
graph resolution, 277; common 
school resolution, 2S4; director C. 
C. & C. R. R., 322; Water Works 
Commissioner, 366 ; presides at 
Cleveland Bar banquet, 368 ; vice- 
president Union Club, 407 ; harbor 
appropriation, 413 ; commissioner, 
421 : congressional representative, 

5°9- 

Payne, Nathan P., 377. 

Payne, Oliver H., 405. 

Payne's Meadows, 553. 

Pease, Seth, 93-94; surveys land, 41 ; 
prepares map, 52; on committee 
of partition, 53 ; in charge of 
funds, 54 ; sketch of, 66, 67 ; jour- 
nal of, 68. 

Pease, S. , 242. 



INDEX. 



577 



Pease. Sheldon, 339. 


Pillsbury, J. \\\, 355. 




Pease. Sylvester, 247, 270. 


Pioneer Fast Stage Line, B94. 




Pease's Hotel, 42. 


Pittsburg, 124, 141, 294. 




Peek, E. M., 263. 


Plain Dealer, 94; origin, 258; 


bank 


Peek and Masters, 263. 


failures, 348; history of, 512- 


-13- 


Peet, David, 241. 


Plumb, Joseph, 139. 




Peet, Elijah, 230. 


Plunder law, 31S, 320. 




Peets, Stephen, 173. 


Plymouth Congregational Church, 


Pelton, F. W., 436. 


353- 359- 




Pelton, Jonathan, 184. 


Poe, Edward W., 521. 




Pennsylvania, the, 253. 


Polemic Association, 294. 




Perdue, Eugene H., 515. 


Police Commissioners, appoi 


nted, 


Periodicals published in 1S92, 506. 


397-9S. 




Perkins, Edwin R., 359, 399, 402, 


Police court, established, 354; 


first 


479- 5io. 


session, 355-56. 




Perkins, Jacob, 32S, 329. 


Police Life and Health Fund, 


430. 


Perkins, Joseph, 344, 359, 453, 454, 


Police station house, 356. 




455; buys city lot, 92; Western 


Pollock, D., 313. 




Reserve Historical Society, 399; 


Pomeroy, Charles S., 453. 




charities, 404; president City Hos- 


Pomeroy, Ralph M., 150. 




pital, 405 ; advisory committee, 


Pope, Alton, 405. 




466. 


Pope, E. C, 466. 




Perkins, J. B., 530. 


Population, in directory, 1837 


292; 


Perkins, Mrs. Sarah M., 54S. 


1850, 353- 




Perkins, Simon; 93, 162. 


Port Independence, 34, 39. 




Perry, Horace, 153, 176, 1S1, 215, 


Portage County, 79, 14S. 




256. 


Porter, Augustus, 26, 41, 47, 6 


7- 


Perry, Horatio, 168. 


Porter, Robert P:, 498-99, 51S. 




Perry, Nathan, Sr., 131, 138, 149. 


Porter, Wells, 471. 




Perry, Nathan, Jr., 131-32, 176. 


Portsmouth, 294. 




Perry, Nathan, 136, 153, 163, 249. 


Post, James, 31S. 




Perry, Oliver, 323. 


Post-Office, established, 127 


re- 


Perry, Oliver Hazard, 165, 3 86, 555. 


ceipts, 129; 1812-1813, 141; 


1835, 


Perry Monument, erection, 383-86; 


262; statistics, 1S90, 1895, 506-507. 


moved to Wade Park, 494. 


Postmasters, 1S05-1S96, 507. 




Perry's Victory day, 554-56. 


Pottawattomies, 124. 




Pettingill, C. B., 410. 


Potter, Lyman, 124. 




Phelps, George, 93. 


Pratt, F. B., 377. 




Phelps, Henry, 318. 


Prentice, Mrs. N. B., 526. 




Phelps, Oliver, 20, 33, 92. 


Prentice, Robert, 161 




Phelps, Samuel W., 92, 150, 152. 


Prentiss, Cyrus, 326, 327. 




Philpott, John, 471. 


Presbyterian Church, 212-14, 


238, 


Phinney, Mrs. Ellen J., 54S. 


314- 




Phoenix Lodge, 311. 


Presley, Mrs. George, Jr., 526. 




Piatt, John J., 536-37. 


Press, evolution from ' ' Penny 


Pickans, Rev. Dr., 298. 


Press," 515-16. 




Piexotto, Daniel L. M., 312. 


Preston, Miles, 541. 




Pilgerruh. See Pilgrim's Rest. 


Price, David, 429. 




Pilgrim's Rest, 13. 


Price, W. H., 402. 





578 



INDEX. 



Probate Court of Cuyahoga County, 


Reed, David, 161. 


356. 




Reede, John S., 150, 151. 


Proctor, John C, 359. 




Reefer, M. C, 516, 


Prohibition, constitutional amend- 


Reese, Charles S., 377. 


ment, 465. 




Reese, PI. J., 31S. 


Prosecuting attorney, 1S10, 149. 




Reiley, Robert, 310, 355, 362. 


Prospect street, 179, 233. 




Religion, in Cleveland, 102, 105-107. 


Prosser, D , 358. 




Residence Fire Insurance Company, 


Protestant Orphan Asylum, 357 




352. 


Proudfoot, George, 26. 




Retreat, founded, 404. 


Proudfoot, James, 355. 




Reutenik, H. J., 554. 


Proudfoot, John, 250. 




Reveley, Ellen G., 463. 


Proudfoot, Joseph, 247. 




Reynolds, Dan F., Jr., 52. 


Public Library, 399; building, 


287; 


Rhodes, Charles L., 446. 


established, 401 ; dedication, 


402; 


Rhodes, C. S., 364. 


statistics, 1895, 403. 




Rhodes, Daniel P., 283, 345, 373, 


Public Square, first park, 41 ; 


de- 


377- 


scribed in Spafford's minutes 


, 45; 


Rhodes, J. H., 454. 


improvement, 275 ; enclosing 


: of, 


Rice, Harvey, 85, 195-96, 383, 386, 


368-69. 




471; plea for school system, 286; 


Pugh, — , 326. 




Perry Monument committee, 384; 


Purdy, Nelson, 398. 




Workhouse director, 415; presi- 


Put-in -Bay Island, 555. 




dent Early Settlers' Association, 


Quayle and Martin, 263. 




440. 
Rice, Olney F., 27, 51. 


Quayle and Moses, 263. 




Rice, Perry W. , 483. 


Queen Charlotte, capture of the, 


164. 


Rice, Walter P., 477. 


Quimby, Ephraim, 118. 




Richardson, Henry, 433. 


Quimby, Samuel, 93. 




Richardson, James M., 525. 
Richardson, William R. , 294-95. 


Radcliff, John R., 247. 




Richmond, Thomas, 318. 


Ragged School, 35S. 




Richmond, 319. 


Railroads, early projects, 317-37. 


Rickoff, Andrew J., 377, 462-64. 


Railroad Rolling Mill, 369. 




Riddle, Albert G., 383, 387, 509. 


Randall, John, 177. 




Riddle, John, 176. 


Ranney, Henry C, 479, 483, 


485, 


Risley, Hart, 172. 


509, 5io. 




Risley, Luke, 257. 


Rappe, Bishop Amadeus, 357, : 


61. 


Ritchie, Ryerson, 521. 


Raymond, Samuel, 306, 340. 




River Street Friendly Inn, 425. 


Reading Room Association, 


292, 


Riverside Cemetery, 361, 430. 


294. 




Roads, 140, 295. 


Real estate, reports 1891, 504-505. 


Robbins, Thomas, 106-107. 


Recorder, county, 1S10, 130. 




Robert Fulton, the, 263. 


Recorder, town, 1815, 176. 




Roberts, Edward A., 525. 


Red House, 241. 




Robertson, George A., 516-17. 


Red Jacket, 32, 131. 




Robinson, Jere E., 398. 


Redhead, William, 355. 




Robison, J. P., 405, 421, 453. 


Redick, D., 152. 




Robison and Cockett, 517. 


Redmgton, Eliphalet, 11 8. 




Rockefeller, John D., 454, 466, oil 



INDEX. 



579 



refinery, 39] ; presents park lands, 
41 9; Centennial gift, 537~3 S - 

Rockport, 303. 

Rocky River, 138-39. 

Roentgen, J. H. C, 53°- 

Rogers, Augustus, 509. 

Rogers, Robert, in Ohio, 1760, 10. 

Rolling Mill Company, 369-71. 

Root, A. P., 462. 

Root, Ephraim, 92. 

Root, James, 160. 

Rosa, L. K., 339. 

Rosa, Storm, 31S, 339. 

Rose, William G., 435, 4S2. 

Rose, Mrs. W. G., 526, 549. 

Rose, W. R., 477. 

Ross, Captain, 290-91. 

Rouse, Benjamin, 236, 267, 358. 

Rouse, Bethesda, 113. 

Rouse, E. C, 250, 405. 

Rouse, Mrs. Rebecca Cromwell, 235 

-37- 

Rouse Block, 237. 
Roy alto n, 303. 
Ruetenik, Herman J., 529. 
Ruggles, Benjamin, 148. 
Ruker, Daniel, 122. 
Rusk, Secretary, 455. 
Russell, C. L., 298. 
Russell, Elijah, 172. 
Russell, Elisha, 172. 
Russell, Hiram, 168. 
Russell, Jacob, 77, 172. 
Russell, Mrs. L. A., 526, 548. 
Russell, Ralph, 172. 
Russell township, 148. 

Saal, George, 398. 

Sabin, William, 247. 

Sackett, Alexander, 305. 

Sackrider, C. W., 399. 

Saengerfest, nineteenth, 425. 

Sager, William, 82. 

St. Clair, Governor, 95, 117. 

St. Clair street, 46, 60. 

St. John, Dr., 242. 

St. John, John R., 247, 268. 

Saint John's Cathedral, 338. 

Saint John's Episcopal Church, 259. 



St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Ceme- 
tery, 360. 

St. Mary's Cemetery, 361. 

St. Mary's on the Flats, 303. 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 315. 

St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum, 357. 

Saloons, 271, 272, 274, 275, 465; vis- 
ited in Woman's Crusade, 424-25. 

Salt, difficulty of obtaining, 80. 

Salaries of Cleveland officials, 1837, 
271 ; 1841, 276. 

Sandusky, 9, 11. 

Sanford, A. S., 43, 247, 292. 

Sanford, Elijah, 250. 

Sanford, Peleg P., 333. 

Sanford and Lott, 292. 

Sargeant, Levi, 186. 

Sargent, H. Q., 359, 360, 521, 525. 

Sargent, John H., 198, 282, 323, 399, 
415- 

Sartwell, Levi, 249. 

Savings and Loan Association, 346. 
See also Citizens' Savings and 
Loan Association; People's Sav- 
ings and Loan Association, etc. 

Savings and Trust Company, 345. 

Sawtel, Amos, 26. 

Second National Bank, 342, 344. 

Second Presbyterian Church, 314. 

Seizer, Mr., 353. 

Seneca, Indian chief, 50-51, 133. 

Senecas, the, 31-32. 

Sessions, A., 126. 

Sessions, S. W., 465. 

Settlers' Association. See Early 
Settlers' Association. 

Severance, Mrs. Mary H., 128. 

Severance, T. C, 341. 

Sewall, Mrs. May Wright, 549. 

Sexton, Henry, 281, 314. 

Seywert, A., 292. 

Schenck, J. C, 398. 

Schneider, J. H., 472. 

Schofield, General, 455. 

Schools, 112-16, 127, 173, 190-95, 375- 
78, 443-44; common schools con- 
sidered, 270; ordinance to estab- 
lish, 272 ; beginning and growth 
of public schools, 277-89; high 



jSo 



INDEX. 



schools established, 2S3-S9 


di- 


207-20S, 35S; from 1S35 to 1S69, 


plomas from expositions, 463, 


464: 


262-63 : fi rst i ron ship, 407. 


Centennial historical conference, 


Ship channel, 365. 


553-54- 




Shirtz, John, 16S. 


Schub, David, 355. 




Sholes, Stanton, 163-64. 


Schubert Mandolin Club, 549. 




Sholl, William H., 355, 446. 


Schwab, Mrs. M. B., 526, 54S. 




Shorb, John, 135. 


Schwan, Paul, 529. 




Shulay, Daniel, 27. 


Scofield, Levi T., 446, 447, 495. 




Shut, David, 355. 


Scott, Abraham, 184. 




Silberg, Captain, 292. 


Scott, George D., 433. 




S mons, Thomas, 455. 


Scott, M. B., 399, 405. 




Simmons, W. R., 355. 


Scovill, E. A., 446. 




Simpson, Alexander, 139. 


Scovill, Philo, 231, 246, 249. 




Six Nations, the. See Iroquois. 


Scowden, T. R., 366. 




Sizer, H. H., 226. 


Scranton, Joel, 212, 249, 323. 




Sizer, Joel, 230, 236. 


Scranton, Mrs. Joel, 237. 




Skinner, O. B., 241. 


Scripps, E. W., 515. 




Slavery, 132-33, 229, 309-10, 3S7— 53. 


Shadnck, Parker, 161. 




See al 'so Cuyahoga Anti-Slavery 


Shaker Heights Park, 41S-19. 




Society ; Anti-Slavery Society ; 


Shaker Mill, 365. 




Xegro. 


Shakespeare saloon, 292. 




Sleeper, D. L., 525. 


Shaw, William, 92. 




Smead, T. H., 25S. 


Shawnees, the, 124. 




Smith, Asa, 16S. 


Shearman, Dyer. See Sherman. 


Smith, A D., 471. 


Sheldon, Benjamin, 365. 




Smith, A. J., 369. 


Sheldon, Maria, 2 S3. 




Smith, A. M. C, 26S. 


Sheldon, Martin, 92. 




Smith, Charles, 32S. 


Sheldon, Reuben, 341. 




Smith, Edwin, 357. 


Sheldon, S. H., 305. 




Smith, Erastus, 247, 270, 310, 471. 


Sheldon, Samuel L., 332. 




Smith, H. L., 339. 


Sheldon, Thomas, S9, 266. 




Smith, Henry A., 399. 


Shelhouse, Martin G., 160. 




Smith, James, 9. 


Shepard, Wareham, 26. 




Smith, Jeremiah, 554. 


Shephard, Phineas, 1S4. 




Smith, S. C, 359. 


Shepherd, Theodore, 42, 54, 71. 




Smith, William M., 312. 


Sheriff, 1810, 149; 1823, 215. 




Smyth, Anson, 289, 377, 402, 462. 


Sherman, Dyer, 154, 16S. 




Snakes, 68, 69. 


Sherman, Isaac, 471. 




Snow, "Grandfather," 359. 


Sherman, John, 535, 540-41, 


545, 


Snow, Louisa, 282. 


552. 




Society for Savings, 342. 


Sherman, William T., 455. 




Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, 


Sherwin, H. A., 525. 




494-97- 


Sherwin, X. B., 359, 360, 507, 


526, 


Solon, 303. 


545- 




South Cleveland Banking Companj-, 


Sherwood, Mrs. Kate Brownlee, 


549- 


345- 


Sherwood, W. E., 477. 




South End Park, 41 8. 


Shier, John, 270. 




South Highway. See Kinsman 


Shipbuilding, 139, 144-45, 172, 


202, 


street. 



INDEX. 



SSi 



South Presbyterian Church, 241 




State Fire and Marine Insurance 


South Side Viaduct, 470. 




Company, 352. 


Southworth, Elizabeth, 230. 




Staunton, James, 124. 


Sowers, Edgar, 471. 




Stedman, — , 325. 


Spafford, Adolphus, 138-39. 




Stedman, Buckley, 362. 


Spafford, Amos, 26, 53, 54, 6c 


, 89, 


Steel industry, 370. 


90, 92, I2i, 127, 136; surveys 


land 


Stephens, Mr., 154. 


for Cleveland, 41 ; at first court, 


Stephenson, T. B., 250. 


93-94; makes local improvements, 


Sterling, Elisha, 410, 446. 


107, 111-12; candidate for senator 


Sterling, John M., 294. 


or representative, 11S; commis- 


Sterling, Mrs. John M., 237. ' 


sioner Erie Canal, 134; member of 


Sterling, John M., Jr.,. 283, 393. 


State Legislature, 142 ; removes 


Sterns, Luther, 161. 


to Perry sburg, 142. 




Stevens, C. C, 311. 


Spafford, Anna, 112. 




Stevens, Henry S., 379, 402. 


Spafford, Samuel, 54. 




Stevenson, Frederick Boyd, 555. 


Spalding, Rufus P., 214-15, 35S, 


3S3. 


Stewart, James, 327. 


3S7, 441, 509. 




Stewart, N. Coe, 462. 


Spangler, B. L., 250, 354, 366. 




Stewart, Mrs. N. Coe, 549. 


Spangler, M. M., 247, 24S, 349- 


5i- 


Stigwanish. See Seneca. 


Spangler, Michael, 212. 




Stiles, Job P., 41, 50, 61. 75, 96. 


Spargo, Mary P., 470. 




Stiles, Mrs. Tabitha, 50, 52. 


Spencer, A. K., 399. 




Stillman, C, 355. 


Spencer, Orson, 354. 




Stockly, George W., 431. 


Spencer, Timothy P., 241, 507. 




Stoddard, Richard M., 26, 41, 54. 


Spotswood, Alexander, 7. 




Stone, Amasa, 323, 333, 405, 447-48. 


Sprague, Asa, 199, 226. 




Stone, Carlos M., 547. 


Sprecher, Samuel P., 541, 


547, 


Stone, Randolph, 213, 229. 


553- 




Stone, S. S. , 339. 


Springer, Uriah, 12. 




Stone, William, 229. 


Spurgeon, John J., 51S. 




Stone, Chisholm, and Jones, 369. 


Squire, F. B., 517. 




Story, Daniel, 113. 


Stafford, O. M., 520. 




Stow, Ephraim, 92. 


Stage-coaches, 140, 295. See 


also 


Stowe, Benjamin, 93. 


Good Intent; Pioneer. 




Straus, Albert, 4S2. 


Stair, John, 254-55. 




Streator, Worthy S., 405, 454. 


Stanard, B. A., 316, 446. 




Street railroads, 257, 379-32, 389, 


Standard Oil Company, 391. 




505, 508-509. 


Standart, Needham M., 364, 


365. 


Streets, laid out, 177, 233-34. 


Stanley, George A., 446. 




Strickland, Aaron T., 268, 294. 


Stanley, George B., 405. 




Strike of 1877, 434. 


Stanley, William H., 377. 




Strong, C. H., 436. 


Stannard, R. W., 433. 




Strong, Homer, 471. 


Stanton, Miss Elizabeth, 526. 




Strong, John H., 187. 


Stark, Captain, 246. 




Strong, John S., 205. 


Starkweather, Samuel, 271, 


276, 


Strongsville, 303. 


283, 286, 399. 




Stump mortars, description, 62. 


Starling Medical College, 312. 




Sullivan, J. J., 526, 542. 


State Bank of Ohio, 341, 342. 




Sun, total eclipse, 127. 



5 8 2 



INDEX. 



Sun and Voice, The, 517. 
Sun Fire Insurance Company, 352. 
Sun-Fish Pond, 16. 
Superintendent of Schools, 1863-66, 

377; 1867-82, 462; 1882-96, 464. 
Superior lane, 45. 
Superior street, 41, 45, 46. 
Superior Court, 338, 442. 
Supervisors of highways, 1802, in; 

1803, 118. 
Supreme Court of Ohio, 152. 
Surveyors, 48-49, 50, 51-52, 60. 
Surveys, 126, 140, 295, 413; Western 

Reserve, 36; according to Spaf- 

ford's and Pease's maps, 41, 42; 

original, 44-46. 
Sweeney, John, 161. 
Sweeney, John S., 515. 

Taggart, Rev. Richmond, 250. 

Taintor, Jesse F., 314, 342. 

Tanner, Hawley, 93. 

Tappan, Abraham, 113, 126. 

Tappan, Benjamin, 118, 161, 222. 

Taxation, 121, 276. 

Taylor, Mrs. B. F., 359, 548. 

Taylor, Charles, 186. 

Taylor, Isaac, 273, 274. 

Taylor, John, 161. 

Taylor, J. D., 140. 

Taylor, Rev. Livingston, L. 359. 

Taylor, Philo, 187. 

Taylor, S. M., 521, 525. 

Tejocharonting, Lake. See Erie, 

Lake. 
Telegraph Supply & Mfg. Co., 431. 
Temperance, 423-25. 
Temperance Society, 292, 424. 
Terrell, Ichabod, 83. 
Territorial Legislature, 117. 
Teutonia Fire Insurance Co., 352. 
Thatcher, Peter, 359, 399. 
Thayendanega. See Brant, Joseph. 
Thayer, Sarah M. , 282. 
Theatres, 270, 292, 426-28, 546. 
Theatre Comique, 428. 
Third Presbyterian Church, 353. 
Thomas, Jefferson, 250. 
Thomas, Thomas, 161. 



Thompson, John, 133. 

Thorne, J. A., 283, 377. 

Thorp, Bazaleel, 161. 

Thorp, Joel, 82, 121, 139. 

Thorpe, H. H., 421. 

Thorpe, T. P., 529, 554. 

Thwing, Charles F., 359, 448, 526, 

553, 554- 
Tibbetts, G. B., 471. 
Tibbitts, George W., 283. 
Tiffany, Joel, 339. 
Tiffin, Governor, 129. 
Tilden, Daniel R., 356, 368. 
Tillotson, Isaac, 122. 
Tinker, Joseph, 26, 54. 
Tinker's Creek, 9, 365. 
Tisdale, — , 263. 
Tod, David, 328, 373. 
Tod, George, 93, 165, 214, 215. 
Tod, John, 410, 479. 
Tomlinson, Andrew, 230. 
Tonnage, 263. 
Topping, A., 421. 
Town pump, 271. 
Townsend, Amos, 405, 413, 418, 419, 

483, 509. 
Townsend Guards, 433. 
Tracy, James J., 446, 447. 
Trading-house, 9-10. 
Transportation, 211. 
Treasurer, City, 176, 478, 482. 
Trimble, William, 177. 
Trinity Church, 184-S6 
Trowbridge, Amasa, 312. 
Troy & Erie Line, 235. 
Trumbull County, 77, 80, 82, 92-94, 

120, 148. 
Turney, Joseph, 421. 
Turney, Mrs. Jos., 526. 
Tuscarawas River, 11, 129, 134. 
Tuttle, Mrs. A. H., 550. 
Tuttle, George R., 399. 
Tuttle, H. B, 399. 
Tyler, B. F., 266. 
Tyler, D. S., 160. 
Typhoid fever epidemic, 226. 

Underhill, James S., 294. 
Underhill, Samuel, 471. 



/.\/)/:.\. 






Union Club, 406. 
Union lane, 38. 
Union National Bank, 345. 
Union Passenger Depot, 334, 39S. 
Union Rolling Mills, 370. 
Union street, 42. 

United 1'rcsbyterian Church, 313. 
United States Artillery, 552. 
United States depository, 341. 
United States District Court, 368. 
United States Regulars, 530-31, 5412. 
University of Medicine and Sur- 
gery, 340. 
University School, 450-51. 
Upson, William H., 469. 
Upton. Mrs. Harriet Taylor, 549. 

Vail, Isaae C, 4.71. 

Valley Railway Company, 335. 

Van Brunt, Henry, 455. 

Vanderbilt, William H., 337. 

Van Duzen, Hartman, 161. 

Van Tassel, A. T., 393, 421. 

Varian, Alexander, 315. 

Vaughan, George R., 377. 

Vaughan, John C, 514. 

Vaux, Calvert, 455. 

Veteran Guards, 433*. 

Veteran Volunteer Fire Depart- 
ment, 543, 552. 

Viaducts. See Bridges. 

"Viger, Captain, 407. 

Vincent, John A., 267. 

Vineyard Vane, 45, 236. 

Vineyard street, 42. 

Virgil. W. R., 247. 

Vocal Society, 294, 453, 52S, 534, 541. 

Volunteer Fire Department, 247, 
249. 

Wade, Edward, 292, 339, 509. 
Wade, Jeptha H., 345, 405, 415-16, 

453- 454, 479- 
Wade Park, 416-20. 
Wadsworth, General, 119-20, 121, 

161. 
Wadsworth, Elijah, 161. 
Walcutt, William, 3S4. 
Walk-in-the-Water, the, 203-207. 



Walker, Timothy, ;<>. 

Wallace, F. T.. tfO. 

Wallace, George, 153, [63, [76, [81, 

[87. 
Wallace, Mrs. George, [58. 
Walter, Alexander W., 354. 
Walters, R. W., 495. 
Walton, J. W., 526. 
Walton, Thomas A., 306, 339. 
Walworth, AshDel W., 72-73, 153, 

177, 265, 47 r ; postmaster, 103, 

507; clerk, 178; incorporator 

Cleveland Pier Company, 181; 

treasurer Colonization Society. 

229. 
Walworth, John, 136, 140, 143, 144, 

x 35. 153; biographical sketch, [28- 

30; clerk and recorder Common 

Pleas Court, 149 ; clerk of Supreme 

Court, 152. 
Walworth, Mrs. John, 158. 
War of 1S12, 156-65. 
Wares, Moses, 250. 
Warner, W. J., 271, 440. 
Warner and Hickox, 2S2. 
Warren, Moses, 26, 54. 
Warren, Moses, Jr., 53. 
Warren, 95, 128. 
Warrensville, 303. 
Washburn Peleg, 67, 96. 
Washington, George, 11. 
Washington County, 147. 
Washington, loss of the, 127. 
Washington Guards, the, 433. 
Washington Insurance Company, 

352. 
Wason, Charles, 345. 
Wason, Everett &Co., 345, 347. 
Water Company, 246. 
Water supply, 155, 275. 
Waterworks, 354, 355, 365-67, 407, 

408, 409; cost of construction to 

1892, 505. 
Waterman, Eleazur, 176, 471. 
AVatkins, George, 193. 
Watson, J. W., 427. 
Wayne County, 47, 147. 
Weatherly, Joseph L., 250, 339, 352. 
Weatherly, J. R., 247. 






INDEX. 



Webb, Mrs. Ella Sturtevant, 526. 

Webb, Thomas I)., [36, 152. 

Weber, Merman, 472. 

Weber, L. X., 526. 

Weddell, H. P., 345. 

Weddell, Mrs. H. P., 237. 

Weddell, Peter M., 1S0, [86, 212, 
249, 341 ; member of dry-goods 
firm, 295 ; partner of Edmund 
Clade, 305; incorporator Ohio R. 
R. Co., 318. 

Weddell House, 316, 358. 

Wedding, first m Cleveland, 72. 

Weed, Mrs. Charles H., 526. 

Weldon, S. J., 243. 

Welker, Martin, 368. 

Well, Thomas, 247. 

Wells, Bezaleel, 135. 

Wells, Frank, 434. 

Wells, Porter, 471. ■ 

Wenham, A. J., 253. 

Wepel, John, 529. 

Weseloh, H., 529. 

West Cleveland, annexation, 508. 

West side, early conditions and set- 
tlement, 238-41.. 

Western Reserve, 20-21, 24-35, 56- 
59; origin of, 18-19; civilization, 
-5, S3; final surrender of Indian 
claims, 123-26; fifth and last divi- 
sion of land, 134. 

"Western Reserve Academy, 448. 

Western Reserve College, medical 
department, 312. 

Western Reserve day, 552. 

Western Reserve Historical Society, 
13, 399-4<Jo, 482-85. 

Western Reserve University, 447-50. 

Western Seaman's Friend Society, 
294. 

Wheeler, Aaron, 94, 355. 

W'heeler, John, 339. 

Wheeler, J. B., 354. 

Whigs. 258, 307. 

Whipping-post, 152. 

Whitaker, Tames, 355. 

White, Andrew, 310. 

White, Bushnell, 2S6, 354, 355, 368, 
446. 



White, Henry C, 86, 356. 

White, John, 154. 

White, John G., 403. 

White. Lyman, 154. 

White, Minerva, 228. 

White, Mrs. Moses, 237. 

White, Moses, 249. 

White. Samuel, 1 54. 

White, Solomon, 154. 

White, Thomas 11., 360. 

White, William, 154, 161. 

Whitelaw, John F., 283. 

Whitman, Henry, 2S2. 

Whitman, H. L., 311. 

Whitman, Standart & Co., 347. 

Whitney, Emma, 2S2. 

Whitney, G. W., 405. 

Whittlesey, Charles, 91, 129, 25S, 

2S9, 294, 399; sketch of, 400-401. 
Whittlesey, Elisha, 161; 168-71. 
Wick, Lemuel, 34S. 
Wick, William, 100. 
Wick, Henry, & Co., 344, 345, 347, 

428. 
Wick, Otis, and Brownell, 344. 
Wickham, Mrs. Gertrude V. R., 526. 
Wigham, James B., 355, 362. 
Wightman, D. L., 440. 
Wightman, John, 154. 
Wilcox, Jeremiah, 93. 
Wilcox, Norman, 26. 
Wilkins, Major, 10. 
AVilley, George, 399. 
Willey, JohnAV., 215, 26S, 271, 278, 

297. 
Willeyville, Ohio City allotment, 

295. 

Williams, A. J., 43-44,442, 519, 521, 

525. 55o. 

Williams, Mrs. A. J., 526. 

Williams, Charles D., 339, 384. 

Williams, Frederick, 154. 

Williams. George, 205. 

Williams, Jonathan, 247, 271. 

Williams, Joseph, 154, 16 r. 

Williams, Mieajah, 222. 

Williams, Ralph 1)., 521,. 

Williams, Wheeler W., 63, <><>. 

Williams, William W.. 121, 130, 154. 



INDEX 






Williams, William \\\, Jr., [54. 

Williams's Mills, 1 22. 

Williamson, Matthew, 1 4. 7 . [53, [6l, 

1 77 

Williamson, [Samuel, Sr., 143, 147, 
170. [92.l2x5.l267, 272, 279, 479; in- 
corporator Cleveland Pier Com- 
pany, 181; director Commercial 
Bank of Lake Erie,i86, 1S7; treas- 
urer of Council, 273; Case Library 
Association board, 316. 

Williamson, S. E., 510. 

Willoughby, 148. 

Willoughby University of Lake 
Erie, 311. 

Willson, Hiram V., 260, 364, 368, 383. 

Willson avenue, line of survey, 46. 

Wilson, Frank, 433. 

Wilson, S., 311. 

Windom, William, 455. 

Winslow, A. P., 182. 

Winslow, Charles, 266. 

Winslow, Richard, 267, 305, 339, 
446. 

Witherell, E. C, 339. 

Withington, Albert L., 345, 465, 485, 
525. 

Witt, Stillman, 323, 333, 404. 

Wolcott, Theodore, 79. 

Wolves, battle with, 104. 

Woman's Christian Association, 
404- 

Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union, 425, 465-67. 

Woman's Crusade, 423-25. 

Woman's day, 547-50. 

Woman's Union Gospel Work, 237. 

Wood. Colonel, aid of General Har- 
rison, 165. 

Wood, David L., 292, ^71. 

Wood, Henry W. S., 403, 526. 

Wood, Reuben, 176, 197, 215, 326. 



Wood inspection, 270. 
Woodbridge, Mary A., 465. 
Woods, I >amel r>., 357. 
Woods, H. E., 517. 
Woods, Perry & Co., 
Woodland Cemetery, 360-61. 
Woolenneber, L. W., 311. 
Woolsey, John M., 265, 322. 
Woolson, Charles J., 343. 
Woolverton, Stephen, 270. 
Wooster and Medina Turnpike, 295. 
Worcester, Noah, 312. 
World, the, history of, 517-18. 
Worley, Daniel, 243, 249, 267, 268, 

271, 278; postmaster, 507. 
Worley, Mrs. Daniel, 236, 237. 
Worley, Eliza, 230. 
Worthmgton, George, 306, 345. 
Worthington, George H., 510, 526. 
Wright, Mrs. R. H., 549. 
Worthington, Thomas, 117, 222. 
Wright, Darwin E., 521, 525. 
Wright, Jabez, 150. 
Wrightman, John, 161. 
Wyandots, the, 124. 

Yacht Club, 552, 553. 

Yagers, the, 292. 

Yates, George W., 282. 

Young, Elijah, 240. 

Young, John, 93. 

Younglove, Moses G., 316. 

Youngstown, So, 94, 97. 

Young Ladies' Temperance League, 

425- 
Young Men's Christian Association, 

353, 354, 428. 
Young Men's Literary Association, 

294, 315- 

Zehring, A., 521, 525. 
Zephyr, the, 72, 139. 



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